Deadly fighting erupted on 27th September 2020, between Armenia
and Azerbaijan. These two ex-soviet republics in the caucus are locked in a
decades-long territorial dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Both Armenia and
Azerbaijan are part of the Transcaucasia and South Caucasia geographical region
in the vicinity of the southern Caucasus Mountains on Eastern Europe and
western Asia consisting of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
The conflict is more
than a cold war-era relic. Both sides enjoy the support of powerful backs. With
the South Caucasus occupying a strategic position in the global energy market,
the fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan could reverberate beyond the region.
On 28th September, authorities
in Nagorno-Karabakh reported 26 of its servicemen had been killed in the
fighting, bringing its total losses to more than 80.
Many other countries
show concern that the conflict could spill out of the region and draw in
neighboring powers, including Turkey, Russia, and Iran. They are also keen to
maintain stability because significant gas and oil pipelines run through the
area.
The latest intense
conflict began on 27th September, with both Armenia and Azerbaijan blaming each
other for the escalation.
According to both
parties, they had mobilized more soldiers and declared martial law in some
areas.
The fighting is the
deadliest seen in the conflict since 2016; around 200 people were killed in
clashes.
The leaders of both
nations have fuelled the issue time and again for their vested political
interests.
What is the history of
the conflict?
Nagorno-Karabakh region
has 95% of the population as ethnically Armenian and is controlled by them, but
it is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
Religiously Armenia is a
Christian majority, while Azerbaijan is a Muslim majority country.
Christian- majority
Armenia and Muslim majority Azerbaijan have had conflicts for centuries;
religion does not play any significant role in the current war. A lot of the
blame rests with Joseph Stalin, a former Soviet leader. He placed the majority
Armenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh (known as Artsakh to Armenians) Azerbaijan
after the red Army conquered the Caucasus In the early 1920s.
In 1920 Nagorno-Karabakh
Autonomous region was established within Azerbaijan by the Soviet Union.
In 1988 Nagorno-Karabakh
legislature passed a resolution to join Armenia despite the region’s legal
location within Azerbaijan’s border.
In 1991, the autonomous
region officially declared that it would not join either of the countries after
a referendum, which was boycotted by Azerbaijan .war erupted between Armenia
and Azerbaijan over the area, leaving roughly tens of thousands of causalities
and hundreds of thousands of refugees.
In 1994 Russia tried to
mediate a ceasefire, which has remained in place since.
In April 2016, the
region was incredibly tense because of violent fighting between the two
countries, known as the four-day war.
Apart from this,
intermittent ceasefire violations between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops have
caused hundreds of death in the past decade.
What do both regions say?
In an interview taken by
BBC, Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan accused Azerbaijan of
sabotaging a peaceful settlement to the conflict and insisted Armenia must
defend the region.
According to the
spokesperson of Azerbaijan’s presidential administration, the country took
“counter-measures” against provocations by Armenia.
What are the
international reactions to this issue?
Turkey has declared its
support for Azerbaijan, while Russia, which has military bases in Armenia but
is also friendly with Azerbaijan – asked for an immediate ceasefire.
Armenia has been
accusing Turkey of providing direct military support to help Azerbaijan gain control
of territory, whereas Azerbaijan has denied the claim.
Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Endogen called on Armenia to immediately end its “occupation” of the
region with withdrawing, saying this was the only course of action that would
secure peace.
On the other side, the
United Nations Secretary-General Guterres has shown overly concerned and urging
both sides to stop fighting.
Russia’s foreign
minister held urgent talks both with Armenian and Azeri leadership.
France, which has a
large Armenian community, called for an immediate ceasefire and dialogue.
Iran, which borders both
Azerbaijan and Armenia offered to broker peace talks.
The USA, also seeking to
stop the violence.
What can be the
consequences of this conflict?
Such conflicts will
create tensions, and its impact can be worse in the future; this may cause
social unrest in the region, which is already suffering from the deadliest
pandemic COVID-19.
Civilians living in
these regions would suffer and can be directly impacted and potentially
displaced if any large-scale war breaks out between the two countries.
This conflict could also
disrupt oil and gas exports from the region since Azerbaijan is a significant
oil and gas exporter to Europe and Central Asia. This conflict may even lead to
higher oil prices globally.
A way forward
The conflict between the
two regions is quite tense, and the international mediators should intervene
immediately and push sides for peace to prevent any future escalations.
Also read
Some facts about
Nagorno-Karabakh
Internationally
recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but the majority of the population is ethnic
Armenian
An estimated one million
people displaced by war in 1988-1994, and about 30,000 were killed.
Separatist forces
captured some extra territory around the enclave in Azerbaijan in the 1990s war.
The stalemate has mostly
prevailed since a 1994 ceasefire.
Turkey openly supports
Azerbaijan.
Russia has military
bases in Armenia.
A mountainous region of
about 4,400 sq. km (1,700 sq. miles)
Christian Armenians and
Muslim Turks traditionally inhabited it.
In Soviet times, it
became an autonomous region within the Republic of Azerbaijan.
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