Azerbaijan captures Karabakh territories amid escalating tensions
Baku, Aug 3 (EFE).- Azerbaijan seized several areas in the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in retaliation for an alleged Armenian attack, the Azerbaijani defense ministry announced on Wednesday
“Illegal” Armenian armed formations attacked an Azerbaijani military garrison, prompting Baku to respond with a military operation, the ministry said in a statement.
An Azerbaijani soldier was killed “as a result of the terrorist and sabotage act,” the statement said, which accused Armenia of violating the ceasefire that ended the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani war.
The Armenian troops “attempted to seize the Girkhgiz high ground, located on a mountain range covering the territory of the Kalbajar and Lachin regions, and establish new combat positions there,” it read.
The authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory disputed between Armenia and Azerbaijan, declared a partial mobilization after the Azerbaijani attack that killed two and wounded 14, according to separatist sources.
The Russian defense ministry, meanwhile, accused Baku of violating the truce, while stressing that the three parties are taking measures to stabilize the situation.
The party of the Armenian prime minister, Nikol Pashinian, called on Russian peacekeeping forces to reduce tensions in the area by insisting that the Lachin corridor falls “exclusively” under their responsibility.
Russian troops have been deployed in the area since the end of the war in 2020 in which Baku emerged victorious.
On Tuesday, the Russian peacekeepers denounced in their daily report “three violations of the ceasefire regime” by Azerbaijani forces.
The Armenian foreign ministry on Wednesday said the Azerbaijani move “unacceptable” and was an attempt to unilaterally change the legal status of the corridor, which is key to Karabakh’s survival. EFE
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