Hours after Russia announced that Nagorno-Karabakh separatists started to give up arms, Moscow said that an Azerbaijani soldier was wounded during a violation of a ceasefire, on Saturday (September 23). This comes days after Azerbaijan launched a military operation against the Armenian-controlled breakaway region.
Meanwhile, humanitarian aid began reaching the 120,000 Armenians in the region who said that the world abandoned them while Azerbaijan defeated their forces.
In a statement, the Russian defence ministry said that an Azerbaijani soldier was “wounded during an exchange of fire” after a “violation of the ceasefire was registered in the Mardakert district”. Moscow, which has around 2,000 peacekeepers in the region, also said that they are conducting an investigation into the incident with Baku and separatist officials.
The fallout from the violation of the recently agreed-upon ceasefire after multiple rounds of talks between Karabakh Armenians and Azerbaijani officials in the town of Shusha was not immediately known.
On Tuesday (Sept 19), Baku launched a military operation against the separatist Armenians, who have claimed part of Karabakh – which is internationally recognised as Azerbaijani territory – as their ancestral homeland.
The operation which has reportedly led to the deaths of at least 200 people, ended after the Armenians of Karabakh were forced to declare a ceasefire on Wednesday (Sept 20) following a lightning 24-hour military operation by the much larger Azerbaijani military.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars since 1991 – the fall of the Soviet Union – over the disputed territory, with the most recent one being in 2020 which ended after a Russia-brokered ceasefire.
Rebels begin handing over the arms
“The armed formations of Karabakh have begun handing over weapons and military equipment under the control of Russian peacekeepers,” Russia had said earlier.
So far, the separatists have handed over six armoured vehicles, more than 800 guns, and about 5,000 units of ammunition, said the Russian defence ministry.
Moscow, on Friday, had also confirmed that the rebels had surrendered their first batch of weapons and the process is expected to continue through the weekend.
Azerbaijani military spokesman Colonel Anar Eyvazov said that they are in “close cooperation” with Russian peacekeepers who are conducting the “demilitarisation” and “giving support to civilians.”
Moscow also said that more than 50 tonnes of food and other aid has been delivered by them, while the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had supplied 28,000 diapers as well as blankets and fuel.
Meanwhile, Baku said it had started sending in urgently needed aid on Friday (Sept 22) as it has sought to cement its grip over the region it lost control over in a war in the 1990s.
ICRC vehicles “have passed through the Lachin Corridor…(with) around 70 metric tonnes of mainly humanitarian supplies and food supplies,” local ICRC spokesman Zara Amatuni told AFP. The Lachin corridor, is the only road link from Armenia to Karabakh.
An ICRC team also carried out the medical evacuation of 17 people wounded during the fighting, reported Reuters.
What about the civilians?
After Azerbaijan began its “anti-terrorist” operation in Nagorno-Karabakh, the future of Karabakh and its ethnic Armenians hangs in the balance as they fear they will be persecuted.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan, who has been wanting to integrate the long-disputed region, said it envisages an amnesty for Karabakh Armenian fighters who give up their arms. The Armenians can leave the region for Yerevan if they want, Baku has said.
The Armenians in the breakaway region have also accused the world of abandoning them. “Today we were thrown out into the street – they made us vagabonds,” Armenui Karapetyan, an Armenian in Karabakh told Armenia A1+.
Karapetyan told the news agency that he is now homeless and in possession of just a few things and a photograph of his 24-year-old son who died in 2020.
“What can I say? We live in an unfair, abandoned world. I have nothing to say. I feel sorry for the blood of our boys. I feel sorry for our lands for which our boys sacrificed their lives, and today…I miss the grave of my son.”
It was also reported that thousands of Karabakh Armenians have massed at the airport and sought the protection of Russian peacekeepers there.
During his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, later on, Saturday, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov promised that Baku would ensure equal treatment for ethnic Armenians from the disputed region.
“I wish to reiterate that Azerbaijan is determined to reintegrate ethnic Armenian residents of the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan as equal citizens,” said Bayramov. This comes as several nations including the United States and Germany have expressed concerns over the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenian PM under pressure
Since Baku’s operation, Armenian leader Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has faced mounting pressure and criticism. The police have arrested at least 98 people as anti-government protests continued in Yerevan for a third day on Friday (Sept 22).
A US congressional delegation led by Senator Gary Peters (Democrat from Michigan) will meet with Armenian leaders to express support after protests and “discuss US-Armenian relations and the impact of Azerbaijan’s recent military actions on the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh,” said the US embassy.
Notably, the US is home to a large Armenian community that fervently supports Yerevan against its decades-long standoff with Baku over the disputed region.
(With inputs from agencies)
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