War in Karabakh: Azerbaijan reports launch of anti-terrorist operation, September 19

“As a result of shelling by the Armenian Armed Forces deployed in Karabakh, a civilian was killed.

Mehman Hasanov, a 31-year-old excavator operator, worked in one of the companies carrying out reconstruction works in the Agdam district. The man died of multiple shrapnel wounds.

A criminal case has been opened,” the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan informed.

“In the absence of a proper response from the international community, Azerbaijan will not limit itself to unleashing aggression in Nagorno-Karabakh and may use force against the sovereign territory of Armenia, taking into account the active accumulation of Azerbaijani armed forces on the Armenian-Azerbaijani interstate border,” Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan said.

“Baku is in operational contact with the Russian peacekeeping contingent and creates all conditions for them to fulfil their duties,” the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry said.

The ministry once again called on units of the Armenian armed forces to lay down their arms and surrender. “In this case, the anti-terrorist activities will be suspended,” the Defence Ministry said.

Russian peacekeepers published a video of Russian military evacuating Armenians from MK.

“The United States is deeply concerned about Azerbaijan’s military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh and calls on Azerbaijan to immediately cease them. These actions worsen the already dire humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and undermine prospects for peace. As we have previously explained to Azerbaijan, the use of force to resolve disputes is unacceptable and contrary to efforts to create conditions for a just and dignified peace in the region. We call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and respectful dialogue between representatives of the people of Baku and Nagorno-Karabakh,” said U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

“We are waiting for Armenia to fulfil its promises, first of all to open the Zangezur corridor. Karabakh, as everyone has already accepted, is Azerbaijani territory and no other status on it will be accepted.

Our first goal should be the peaceful coexistence of all, including Armenians, on the territory of Azerbaijan. We support steps on the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, with which we walk with the unified understanding of “One Nation, Two States”,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during his speech at the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

A protest rally is taking place in front of the Russian Embassy in Yerevan. The participants of the rally are becoming more and more numerous. The entrances and exits of the embassy are blocked. The protesters demand from Russia to fulfil its obligation to ensure the security of NK Armenians.

Police used light and noise grenades against protesters on Republic Square near the Armenian government building. Protesters are trying to pass into the building, throwing bottles and firecrackers at it. The glass on the entrance doors was broken.

Nagorno-Karabakh reports that 128 adults and 12 children have been wounded, three of whom are in serious condition. They are being operated on at the moment, Karabakh medics report

Renowned Armenian footballer Henrikh Mkhitaryan has appealed to his fans and colleagues to support NK Armenians:

“Azerbaijan has resumed the war against Nagorno-Karabakh, shelling civilians and civilian infrastructure after 9 months of deliberate blockade, starvation and denial of humanitarian access. As experts have said, this is genocide. I call on my fans, the sports world and media colleagues to react and help raise their voices to restore peace,” Henrikh Mkhitaryan wrote on his Instagram page.

“According to information received from Stepanakert morgue by the Ombudsman’s office, as of 20:00, there are 25 victims as a result of a large-scale terrorist attack by Azerbaijan, of whom two are civilians,” NK human rights defender Gegham Stepanyan said in his microblog on X.

Photo Siranush Sargsyan, Karabakh

“Local anti-terrorist activities in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan continue successfully. More than 60 combat posts have come under the control of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.

Up to 20 military vehicles, more than 40 artillery installations, more than 30 mortars, 2 anti-aircraft missile systems, more than 6 electronic warfare stations were destroyed,” a representative of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry said in a regular briefing.

“France’s Islamophobic and anti-Azerbaijani policy and its unacceptable interference in Azerbaijan’s internal affairs show that the further Paris goes, the better it will be for the South Caucasus,” the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said.

The department condemned the statement of the French Foreign Ministry regarding anti-terrorist activities in Karabakh.

“We strongly condemn the Azerbaijani government’s brutal attacks in Nagorno-Karabakh, which increase the risk of ethnic cleansing of the region’s Armenian population.

We call on the international community to protect the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, prevent crimes against humanity in the region, and hold the government of Azerbaijan accountable to protect Armenians in the region,” the human rights organisation Freedom House issued this statement on its page X.

We strongly condemn the Azerbaijani govt’s violent attacks in Nagorno-Karabakh, heightening the risk of ethnic cleansing against the region’s Armenian population.

Any attempt to forcibly change the region’s demographics is illegal & unacceptable. (1/2)https://t.co/LYgSoGNGOe

— Freedom House (@freedomhouse) September 19, 2023

“Moral and psychological condition of the servicemen of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan participating in anti-terrorist actions of local character held in the Karabakh region is at a high level,” Colonel Anar Eyvazov, head of the press service of the Defence Ministry, said at a briefing in connection with anti-terrorist actions in Karabakh.

According to him, the servicemen are provided with everything they need.

“The European Union calls for stopping any military operations and finding a solution to the problems through dialogue,” Peter Stano, the official representative of the EU foreign policy service, told Armenpress Armenian news agency in an exclusive commentary.

When asked what steps the EU is going to take to restrain Azerbaijan’s actions, he said: “We are assessing the situation very carefully and following the developments on the ground. The European Union has always been very consistent when it comes to our position on the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We do not encourage unilateral steps, we call for the cessation of any military action and the search for solutions through the diplomatic dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the settlement process initiated and implemented by the EU”.

Nagorno-Karabakh Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan reports that the village of Yekhtsayokh of the Shusha district with a population of 150 people came under the shelling of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, the school was completely destroyed. There is no possibility to evacuate the residents, the village is surrounded by Azerbaijani troops from all sides.

In Yerevan’s Republic Square, protesters demand a change of government, chanting “Nikol, the traitor”. Conflicts with the police sometimes arise.

Three out of nine children wounded in Karabakh are in serious condition. They are in Arevik Children’s Hospital. The information is reported by the Public Television of Armenia.

Azerbaijan is ready to meet with representatives of the Armenian population of Karabakh in Yevlakh.

“However, in order to end the anti-terrorist measures, the illegal Armenian armed formations must surrender all weapons and the illegal regime must be dissolved,” the Azerbaijani presidential administration said.

Otherwise, the anti-terrorist measures will continue until the end, the administration added.

The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry has published a video of the destruction of a cannon device of the Armenian armed forces in Karabakh.

Pashinyan spoke with the French President. The press secretary of the Armenian prime minister says that the interlocutors “emphasised the need to use international mechanisms for de-escalation and the unacceptability of the use of force”.

The French President said that Paris would initiate an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council in connection with the situation.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

The press service of the Prime Minister informs: “They discussed the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh after the beginning of military operations by Azerbaijan. Both sides emphasised the inadmissibility of the use of force and the need to use international de-escalation mechanisms”.

The Azerbaijani army uses Turkish Bayraktar UAVs to destroy combat positions of Armenian armed formations in Karabakh.

“France condemns in the strongest terms the launch by Azerbaijan of a military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh using heavy weapons, including against populated areas. No pretext can justify such unilateral action, which threatens thousands of civilians already suffering from months of illegal blockade and runs counter to the efforts of the international community to reach a negotiated settlement.

France calls on Azerbaijan to immediately cease the offensive and return to respect for international law. Azerbaijan bears full responsibility for the fate of the civilian population of Nagorno Karabakh.

France demands an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council. France is working closely with its European and American partners to give a decisive response to this unacceptable offensive commensurate with the risks it poses to the security of the region,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry believes that Azerbaijan’s actions, bellicose rhetoric, “absolutely false and reprehensible propaganda, qualifying the population of Nagorno-Karabakh as ‘terrorists’, pursue one goal – to subject the population of Nagorno-Karabakh to ethnic cleansing through the use of force, to deprive them of the right to live and create freely and with dignity in their homeland”.

The agency stresses that the active military actions were preceded by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s dissemination of false information about mining and sabotage, which indicates pre-planned actions for which the information field was prepared.

“We reiterate that the armed forces and military equipment of the Republic of Armenia are not deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh, all the news about mining and sabotage actions are false and fabricated.

We appeal to international partners, members of the UN Security Council, who bear primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, as well as the Russian peacekeeping contingent deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh in accordance with the trilateral declaration of 9 November 2020 signed by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, to take concrete and unambiguous steps to stop Azerbaijan’s aggression,” the statement reads.

An appeal of the Azerbaijani military to civilians of Armenian origin and militants is distributed in the territories where anti-terrorist activities of local character are being carried out:

Address to civilians of Armenian origin.

“You and your families have become a tool of dirty political games of separatists!

The persons you consider as leaders have already taken their families and their property out of Karabakh!

Azerbaijani soldiers are not aiming at civilians!

Do not offer armed resistance! Otherwise it will be regarded as terror! Do not leave your homes!”

Address to armed persons (militants)

“Drop your weapons and surrender! Do not offer senseless resistance!

Think about yourselves and your families!

You and your families will be treated in accordance with international humanitarian law!

You will be provided with water and food! You will be provided with medical care!

Surrender! This is your last chance to stay alive!”

“The Karabakh side appeals to the Azerbaijani side to immediately cease fire and sit down at the negotiating table to settle the situation,” the Information Headquarters of the unrecognised republic reports.

It also reports that the intensity of fire has significantly decreased at the moment.

“The EU condemns the military escalation along the line of contact as well as in other locations in Karabakh. We call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and call on Azerbaijan to stop the current military actions. There is an urgent need to return to dialogue between Baku and the Armenians of Karabakh. This military escalation must not be used as a pretext to facilitate an exodus of the local population. Violence must stop in order to create a favourable environment for negotiations on peace and settlement,” European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said in a statement.

Another appeal to the Armenians living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan has been published:

“For more than three decades, the Azerbaijani and Armenian peoples have been hostages of foreign geopolitical games and manipulations. No one is going to ban your language – these myths are deliberately spread by those who are afraid of losing their illegal power and therefore try to manipulate you by telling false stories. We call you to friendship, not enmity! To co-operation, not mutual hatred.

Local journalist Siranush Sargsyan published in her microblog on Twitter footage of the results of shelling of residential neighbourhoods.

Azerbaijan is shelling civilian residential areas of #Stepanakert This is a building next to us with no military target in vicinity. pic.twitter.com/EZtJsAEBNg

— Siranush Sargsyan (@SiranushSargsy1) September 19, 2023

The Infocentre of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry has been established.

Briefings of the Ministry will be regularly held here.

A few minutes ago, the first such briefing was completed. A representative of the Defence Ministry read out already known statements of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry.

According to data published in social networks, an unnamed source in the Ministry of Defence said that Azerbaijan plans to liquidate most of the combat positions of Armenian military forces in Karabakh by tomorrow evening.

The President of the unrecognised NKR Samvel Shahramanyan convened a meeting of the Security Council to discuss the situation. After the meeting, the following message was received from the Presidential Administration:

“Taking into account the threat to life and health of thousands of people, the official Stepanakert calls on international actors and all interested parties to immediately take all necessary measures to stop the aggression against Artsakh.

Artsakh has always been in favour of a peaceful settlement and reaffirms its readiness to resolve all issues through negotiations. Azerbaijan’s actions are nothing but ethnic cleansing and genocide policy”.

Azerbaijani Defence Ministry reports about destruction of P-18 radar station (radar station) belonging to Armenian Armed Forces in Khojavan (Martuni) direction.

Azerbaijani media report that a civilian was killed in Shusha as a result of shelling by Armenian armed forces.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said today that “Azerbaijan has launched an operation to ethnically cleanse the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.” He made the statement on his Facebook page immediately after a meeting of the Armenian Security Council.

The Prime Minister said that Baku’s desire to carry out ethnic cleansing is also evidenced by Baku’s statements about its readiness to provide “humanitarian corridors” to the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh:

“If Azerbaijan claims that its actions are not directed against the peaceful population, what is the need to provide such ‘corridors’?”

Nikol Pashinyan announced that Azerbaijan intends to involve Armenia in military actions, and there are forces that support this intention in one way or another.

“Some ‘external and internal forces want to jeopardise Armenia’s statehood. But we will cope with this situation, no matter how difficult it is emotionally. The Republic of Armenia is not involved in military actions and has no army in Nagorno-Karabakh,” the Armenian Prime Minister emphasised.

“The failure of international players – to lift the blockade of Artsakh and prevent genocide – has given Azerbaijan the green light to launch a military attack on the 120,000 citizens of Artsakh under siege,” the statement reads.

The ministry’s microblog also has a report on casualties and wounded, including among children:

“According to the data received so far, there are at least 2 injured, including one child, and 11 wounded, including 8 children, as a result of #Azerbaijan attacks.”

Address to the Armenian population of Karabakh from the authorities of Azerbaijan:

“The armed forces of Azerbaijan are carrying out activities to disarm illegal armed formations in the territory of Karabakh. The aim is to put an end to the plundering of this region by the so-called regime and to bring freedom, peace, justice and prosperity to the people living there.

Be sure that your life is very important for the state of Azerbaijan. Therefore, when realising your activities, stay away from military facilities and all buildings where the illegal regime is operating. Do not obey any orders of the illegal military junta. Do not wear military uniforms and do not carry weapons. This may make you a legitimate target.

Do not go out of your homes where you live, stay safe there. The Azerbaijani soldier is a saviour! He is coming to save you from the slavery of the military junta.”

The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry has denied information circulated in Armenian media about alleged shelling of civilian objects.

The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry reported the “destruction” of combat positions, long-term firing points, combat means and military facilities of the Armenian armed forces formations in the direction of Khojaly district and Red Bazaar.

Armenian Defence Ministry reports: “As of 14:00 the situation on the borders of the Republic of Armenia is relatively stable”.

The Ministry of Defence of Azerbaijan has issued another statement:

“Local anti-terrorist activities of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan continue.

Within the framework of the measures, exclusively legitimate military targets and military infrastructure are put out of action with the use of high-precision weapons.

Taking into account the placement of firearms near residential neighbourhoods by the formations of the Armenian armed forces, we call on the local civilian population to stay away from military targets and not to support the formations of the Armenian armed forces. The relevant information was sent to the Armenian residents of the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan via mobile SMS service. At the same time, the population is warned by means of loudspeakers and information leaflets are distributed.

Protection and guarding of administrative, social, educational, medical, religious and other objects whose security is guaranteed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan and norms of international humanitarian law will be organised.

Women, children, the elderly, the physically disabled and the sick will be provided with the necessary medical assistance, drinking water and food.

In order to ensure evacuation of the population from the danger zone, humanitarian corridors and reception points have been established on the Lachin road and in other directions”.

The head of a kindergarten in NK told reporters that they are under shelling. The children are in the basement. She said that the shelling started at a time when many children were still in schools and babies in kindergartens. They are now without parents, with carers.

“The Azerbaijani Armed Forces violated the ceasefire regime along the entire line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh with rocket and artillery strikes. Stepanakert and other towns and villages are under fire,” the unrecognised NKR defence ministry said.

“Systematic shelling of the positions of the Azerbaijani Army by the Armenian armed forces in the Karabakh region, continued mining of our territories, engineering improvement of combat positions, as well as an increase in the number of trenches and dugouts in recent months has caused an even greater increase in tension.

We have also seen the reinforcement of combat positions with personnel, armoured vehicles, artillery and other firepower, bringing units to a high level of combat readiness, the creation of additional mobilisation units, the expansion of reconnaissance activities against Azerbaijani Army units, the penetration deep into our positions to re-mine cleared areas and civilian roads for sabotage and terrorist purposes.

On 19 September, on the Ahmedbeyli-Fizuli-Shusha road, a mine planted in advance for terrorist purposes by the reconnaissance and sabotage groups of the Armenian armed forces in the Karabakh economic region of Azerbaijan killed civilians and disabled a vehicle belonging to the State Road Agency of Azerbaijan. On the same day, a vehicle carrying servicemen of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was blown up by a mine planted by a reconnaissance and sabotage group of the Armenian armed forces, killing and injuring our servicemen. Such facts are a continuation of Armenia’s purposeful and systematic terrorist policy against Azerbaijan.

The Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Azerbaijan has repeatedly stated that the continued presence of Armenian armed forces formations in the Karabakh economic region of Azerbaijan in violation of the provisions of the Trilateral Statement signed on 10 November 2020 is a source of serious threat to peace and stability in the region.

In order to ensure the provisions of the Tripartite Declaration, suppress large-scale provocations in the Karabakh economic region, disarm and withdraw Armenian armed forces formations from our territories, neutralise their military infrastructure, ensure the safety of the peaceful population returning to the territories liberated from occupation, civil servants involved in construction and reconstruction works and our military personnel, as well as restore the constitutional order of the Republic of Azerbaijan, antiterrorist operations have been launched in the region.

Within the framework of the measures, positions of the Armenian armed forces formations, their long-term firing points, as well as military means and objects of military purpose are put out of action using high-precision weapons in the front line and in depth.

We reiterate that the civilian population and civilian infrastructure are not targets, only legitimate military targets are taken out of action.

The command of the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation and the leadership of the Turkish-Russian Monitoring Centre have been informed about the activities,” the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry said in a statement.