Riots in Baku after bodies of those killed on border with Armenia brought back home

Several thousand protesters in Baku broke into parliament on the night of July 15, but were driven out by tear gas. 

The protesters demanded to start a war with Armenia because of the three days of ongoing military clashes on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, which have already led to at least 16 dead on both sides.

It all started on the evening of July 14, when many Baku residents took to the streets to meet the funeral procession bringing the bodies of servicemen who died in bilateral artillery and sniper fire on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, which has been ongoing since July 12.

Situation escalates on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, casualties on both sides

Baku reports around 12 dead, Yerevan reports around four. International organizations and partners urge both parties to practice restraint and end the hostilities

At the time of publication of this article, the Azerbaijani side has reported 12 casualties. The bodies of Major General Polad Gashimov and Colonel Ilgar Mirzoyev were brought to Baku to be buried in the Alley of Martyrs.

The procession took place spontaneously and was joined by thousands of people, despite the fact that Baku is still under a strict quarantine regime due to the coronavirus pandemic, and that no more than five people are permitted to gather at a time.

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The march passed through the city center and past the presidential administration building, as people chanted the slogans “Either Karabakh, or death,” “End the quarantine, start a war,” and “Commander-in-chief, give us weapons!”

At around 4 a.m. on July 15, riots broke out, during which police cars were overturned. Then the demonstrators broke into the parliament building shouting “mobilize!”.

Police did not stop protesters from entering parliament

There were many police officers in the surrounding area, but they did not take any measures to protect the parliament building.

Only after some time the police entered the building after the protesters and chased them out using force. Water cannons were shot from the square in front of the parliament building to disperse the spontaneous demonstration.

Several protesters were detained, but the exact number is not yet known.