Armenia and Azerbaijan accuse each other of new attacks in worst violence since 2020 war

Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other of launching new attacks on Wednesday (14 September), following the worst violence between the two countries since a 2020 war over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. At least 100 Armenian and Azerbaijani soldiers were killed in clashes on Tuesday after Russia announced a ceasefire, but both sides have already accused each other of violating it.

The Ministry of Defense of Armenia announced on Wednesday that Baku “Renewed attacks with artillery, mortars and large-caliber weapons in the direction of Jermuk, Verin Chorja”. In turn, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan announced on Wednesday that the Armenian forces had violated the ceasefire regime and “At night, they bombarded our positions in Kelbajar and Lachin areas with mortars and artillery.”

Armenia and Azerbaijan, two rival former Soviet republics in the Caucasus, have fought each other for control of Nagorno-Karabakh in two wars over the past three decades. The fresh fighting shows how the situation remains explosive, both in the region and along the official border between the two countries.

More than 6,500 people died in 2020

Armenia called on the international community to respond, while the European Union (EU), the United States, France, Russia, Iran and Turkey expressed serious concern and called for an end to the violence.

Historically complicated, relations between Yerevan and Baku are still poisoned by their dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave populated mainly by Armenians that seceded from Azerbaijan with Armenia’s support.

After the first war, which killed more than 30,000 people in the early 1990s, in the fall of 2020, Armenia and Azerbaijan clashed again for control of this mountainous area. More than 6,500 people died in this new war. The cease-fire signed under the auspices of Moscow proved a humiliating defeat for Armenia.