News, reports, photos / videos on military actions in Karabakh for October 4, 2020

The Armenian Ministry of Defense officially informs that the statements of the Azerbaijani leadership about the alleged shelling from the territory of Armenia in the direction of Mingechevir are yet another ‘falsification.’
Defense Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan wrote on her Facebook page:
“This is another falsification. This is the result of the desperate convulsions of the Azerbaijani side”.
The Press Secretary of the President of Karabakh Vahram Poghosyan also reports that the Armenian side did not strike either at the Mingechaur hydroelectric power station, or at the thermal power plant, or at the city or reservoir.

Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev on Twitter:

Missile attacks by Armenia against Azerbaijani civilians and civil infrastructure:
1. Ganja:4+Smerch missiles with cluster ammunition. 2nd biggest city.
2. Khizi&Absheron region: Two 300 km mid range missile.
3. Mingachevir: 2 missiles. Water reservoir and Electricity plant pic.twitter.com/m4vFz5zrKw

— Hikmet Hajiyev (@HikmetHajiyev) October 4, 2020

The only information center operating in Karabakh that unleashed the war posted a video of the shooting in Stepanakert.

Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev on Twitter:

Armenia's state terror against Azerbaijani civilians continues. Minutes ago Armenia's armed forces launched missile attack against #Mingachevir industrial city of Azerbaijan. Mingachevir hosts water reservoir and key electricity plant. Barbaric expression of desperation.

— Hikmet Hajiyev (@HikmetHajiyev) October 4, 2020

Press secretary of the Armenian Defense Ministry Shushan Stepanyan: the Azerbaijani Armed Forces are constantly making attempts to attack in the conflict zone, but the attacks fail as a result of the actions of the Karabakh Defense Army.

“The fighting continues along the entire line of contact in the Karabakh conflict zone. The most stubborn battles are fought in the north and south.”

In addition, it is reported that as a result of shelling and rocket attacks on Stepanakert and Shushi, four civilians were killed, 10 people were injured.

“Today, the villages of Karhulu, Shukurbeyli, Chereken, Dashkesan, Khorovlu, Mahmudlu, Jafarabad, Yukhary Maralyan, Dejal of the Jabrayil region have been liberated from the occupation. Glory to the Azerbaijani army! Karabakh is Azerbaijan!” wrote the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on Twitter.

In general, summing up the settlements declared by Ilham Aliyev and transferred to the Azerbaijani side, the Azerbaijani army took 16 villages and one city.

Bu gün Cəbrayıl rayonunun Karxulu, Şükürbəyli, Çərəkən, Daşkəsən, Horovlu, Mahmudlu, Cəfərabad, Yuxarı Maralyan, Decal kəndləri işğaldan azad edilmişdir. Eşq olsun Azərbaycan ordusuna! Qarabağ Azərbaycandır!

— İlham Əliyev (@azpresident) October 4, 2020

Nikol Pashinyan in an interview with the German newspaper Bild said that the Turkish army is directly involved in this conflict. And if the world community does not work out a clear position on the situation in Karabakh and misjudges the geopolitical significance of what is happening, then “Europe should expect Turkey near Vienna”:

“Now Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia have become the front of civilization. The Armenians in the South Caucasus are the last obstacle to Turkey’s expansion to the north, southeast and east. Turkey’s imperialist policy extends much further than the South Caucasus.”

The current escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh, according to Pashinyan, is of international importance, and Turkey’s actions ‘are aimed at restoring the’ Turkish empire “

“In the Jabrayil direction, a large number of weapons, military and automotive equipment of the enemy were captured as a trophy,” the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in a statement.

“The official Twitter pages of the officials of Azerbaijan and Turkey are vying with each other to celebrate the ‘liberation’ of Jabrayil, but this is another lie,” the press secretary of the Armenian Defense Ministry wrote on her Facebook page.

In the same message, Shushan Stepanyan promised to provide footage of the escape of Azerbaijani servicemen from Matagis.

Earlier, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev claimed that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces took this village.

The Armenian side denies the information that it is under the control of the Azerbaijani forces and, in support of it, encloses a video of how Azerbaijani forces leave this territory:

At the same time, it is reported that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces continue to bomb Shushi and Stepanakert. There are casualties and wounded among civilians, their exact number has not yet been reported.

“Today the Azerbaijani army liberated the city of Jabrayil and several villages of the region from occupation. Glory to the Azerbaijani army! Karabakh is Azerbaijan! ” – wrote the President of the country Ilham Aliyev on his Twitter.

Today Azerbaijan’s Army has liberated from occupation the city of Jabrayil and several surrounding villages. Long live Azerbaijan’s Army! Karabakh is Azerbaijan!

— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) October 4, 2020

The number of civilian casualties in Azerbaijan has increased to 24 individuals, the press service of the country’s Prosecutor General’s Office reported.

Another 111 people were injured, the report said.

“Today Azerbaijanis again actively disseminated information in the local and international press that the president of the Artsakh Republic was wounded. At present, the president is completely fulfilling his duties,” wrote the press secretary of the president Vahram Poghosyan on his Facebook page.

On the evening of October 3, Azerbaijani media wrote that Arayik Harutyunyan had died. An indirect refutation of these messages was a photo published by the president himself on his Facebook page on the morning of October 4. In the photo, he is drinking coffee on the front line with the servicemen of the Karabakh army.

David Tonoyan stated that, despite the shelling of the territory of Armenia by artillery and drones by the Azeri Armed Forces, from the Armenian side, that is, the territory of Armenia, not a single strike, neither artillery nor missiles, was made against Azerbaijan. “For now,” he stressed. The minister also stated:

“If for the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan Stepanakert, Hadrut, Martuni, Martakert and other settlements are a permissible zone for conducting military operations, then the professional units of the Defense Army will sharply respond to this. There will be dire consequences for Azerbaijan ”.

Arayik Harutyunyan informed that the Karabakh Defense Army launched several missile strikes to neutralize military facilities in Ganja on his order.
“I have ordered to stop the fire to avoid innocent civilian casualties. If the enemy does not make certain conclusions, then we will continue to deliver proportionate and powerful blows, destroying the enemy army and rear. We are determined. Stop before it’s too late.”

The German Chancellor discussed the excalation in Nagorno-Karabakh with the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan by phone. She stressed that all parties must immediately cease hostilities and resume negotiations.
Merkel joined the opinion of the leadership of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries, that is, the statement of the presidents of Russia, the United States and France on October 1. Putin, Trump and Macron condemned the escalation:
“We call on the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to immediately… without putting forward preliminary conditions to resume negotiations on the essence of the settlement with the assistance of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.”
Merkel also called for the parties to agree on a humanitarian pause, which would allow the parties to remove the bodies of dead soldiers from the combat zone.

Azerbaijan is bombing Stepanakert and Martakert with long-range missiles and aircraft. Moreover the Armenian Defense Army reports: an analysis of the actions of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces indicates that they are preparing for a new offensive.
Due to the fact that the settlements in Nagorno-Karabakh from the first day of the escalation have been actively fired upon by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, the Armenian Foreign Ministry issued a statement:
“A targeted attack on the civilian population and infrastructure of Artsakh, initiated by the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan, is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. And it will bear full responsibility for this war crime.”

As a result of artillery fire in the city of Ganja, a civilian was killed and four more were injured, state television AzTV reported.

Aziz Aliyev Street was under fire, and work is underway to remove people left under the rubble of destroyed buildings.

Aide to the President of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev posted on his Twitter a video from Ganja, which came under Armenian rocket fire.

Results of Armenia's massive missile attacks against dense residential areas in Ganja city. Azerbaijan retains its right to take adequate measures against legitimate military targets to defend civilians and enforce Armenia to peace. 4 new missile just hit Ganja. pic.twitter.com/GInYCJyJc6

— Hikmet Hajiyev (@HikmetHajiyev) October 4, 2020

The Karabakh Defense Army published a video with the consequences of the shelling of Stepanakert.

After the shelling of peaceful settlements by the Azerbaijani army, the press secretary of the President of Karabakh Vahram Poghosyan reported on the response actions of the Armenian side:
“The military airfield in Ganja took off into the air. The first”.

Since the beginning of hostilities on September 27 in Azerbaijan, as a result of the shelling of the enemy, 22 civilians have died, another 74 people have been wounded, the press service of the country’s Prosecutor General’s Office reported.

According to the report, 49 civilian objects and 248 residential buildings have been destroyed.

According to the press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, Ganja, the second most important city in the country, is under fire from the enemy.

Details are not provided.

Iran stands in defense of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and the end of the Armenian occupation will be a guarantee of stability in the region, said the head of the Iranian presidential administration Mahmoud Vaezi.

He also stressed that Tehran considers Azerbaijan a fraternal and friendly country and a good neighbor:

“Iran’s position on Azerbaijan has always remained open and transparent. We have always respected and recognized the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. We believe that ending the occupation will ensure stability in the region,” Vaezi said.

“Over the past two days, the positions of the Azerbaijani army units and our settlements have been subjected to intensive shelling from the military unit deployed in Ballyca, north of Khankendi,” the press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said.

“Despite several warnings to the enemy through the representatives of international organizations, this is still ongoing.

“We once again warn the enemy that we will take adequate measures against the enemy positions in Ballija,” the message says.

Arayik Harutyunyan urged the population of Azerbaijan to urgently leave these cities in order to avoid possible losses:
“Despite numerous warnings, the target of the Azerbaijani terrorist army continues to be the civilian population of Stepanakert, against whom the Polonez and Smerch systems are used. From now on, large military facilities permanently deployed in large cities of Azerbaijan will become the targets of the Defense Army.”
The NK President once again stressed that the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan bears full responsibility for what is happening.

Azerbaijan has formed special groups that track the movements of journalists covering the fighting, the ministry said in a statement:
“The Azerbaijani army took concrete action and started shelling both local journalists and journalists who arrived from Armenia and from abroad.”
For shelling groups of journalists, Azerbaijan focuses on broadcasting live broadcasts and video materials from the places of hostilities.
“Taking into account the current situation, in particular the real direct threat to the physical safety and life of journalists, including foreign citizens, it was decided to temporarily move them to a new information center located in a safe place,” the Foreign Ministry said.

In the morning of October 4, information appeared that several explosions rocked the center of the Karabakh capital at once. Representative of the Armenian Defense Ministry Artsrun Hovhannisyan wrote on his Facebook page minutes ago:
“At present, civilian objects are being shelled in Stepanakert again.”
According to the press secretary of the Armenian Defense Ministry Shushan Stepanyan, there is a firefight in the zone of the Karabakh conflict, in some areas low intensity fire from artillery is being conducted.

Fighting in and around Karabakh has been on-going for eight days.

• The total number of dead Armenian soldiers has exceeded 200, the number of wounded is not reported. How many Azerbaijani soldiers died is unknown. Only civilian casualties are reported: 19 killed, 63 injured. The only information about the casualties among the military remains the report of the Khazar center, published on September 27: 11 casualties among the military. Experts suggest many military personnel have died, given the intensity of the fighting, which has been going on for eight days.

• Azerbaijan stated that its army took control of seven villages in Jabrayil and Fizuli regions (adjacent to Karabakh and under its control since the Karabakh war in the early 1990s).

• The Azerbaijani military raised their national flag in the village of Madagiz in Karabakh, which was taken on October 3. President Ilham Aliyev said that the village was returned to its Azerbaijani name – Sugovushan.

• President of Karabakh Arayik Harutyunyan went to the front and called the hostilities a ‘holy war’.

• The Foreign Ministry of Nagorno-Karabakh called on the international community to recognise the independence of the republic “in order to ensure the rights of its residents to life and peaceful development.”

• A delegation of the Armenian parliament headed by Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan urgently left for Karabakh.

• The special services of Armenia published materials about the participation of mercenaries from Turkey in the hostilities on the side of Azerbaijan. A video has been circulated that allegedly provides a recording of the militants’ conversations and presents the evidence available.

• President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan made policy statements.

• Ilham Aliyev, among other things, named his condition for the cessation of hostilities and the start of negotiations: all Armenian military servicemen must leave Karabakh and adjacent regions of Azerbaijan according to an agreed schedule.

• Nikol Pashinyan reiterated the “unprecedented aggression of Azerbaijan” and called on “every citizen of Armenia and Karabakh to devote themselves to the Victory.” “Victory, only victory and exclusively victory is what we expect in the end!” Pashinyan concluded his address.

• French President Emmanuel Macron called Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and called for a truce and the resumption of the negotiation process. Aliyev placed all responsibility for the escalation on the Armenian side.

• The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (the main facilitator of the negotiation process in the Karabakh conflict) called for a humanitarian truce to remove the bodies of dead servicemen.

• Armenian PM addresses public on 7th day of fighting – main messages

• News, reports, photos / videos on military operations in Karabakh for October 3, 2020

Since September 27, large-scale military operations have continued around Nagorno-Karabakh and on the border of Azerbaijan and Armenia. More than 200 people have been killed, both military servicemen and civilians among them. There are thousands of wounded.