News, reports, media on combat in Karabakh. October 17-20, 2020

Starting in the morning and all day on October 20, fierce battles of the Azerbaijani and Armenian armies continued in several regions in the Karabakh conflict zone.

• Karabakh fighting, update, October 20

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev both announced on the evening of October 19 that they were ready to meet in Moscow for negotiations after weeks of bloody fighting in and around Karabakh.

• What else happened on October 19 – an overview of events from all sides.

The truce will take effect on October 18 at 00:00 local time:

“This decision was taken in continuation of the statement of October 1 by the presidents of France, the Russian Federation and the United States of America and the statement of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs of October 5 and the joint statement adopted in Moscow on October 10,” the statement posted on the websites of the foreign ministries reads.

The adoption of the decision was preceded by telephone conversations between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia Jeyhun Bayramov and Zohrab Mnatsakanyan.

As a result of intensive shelling of the Agjabadi region of Azerbaijan by the Armenian armed forces at about 4 pm on October 17, 2020, a resident of the village of Arazbar, Orkhan Hajiyev, born in 1991, was wounded, the press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan reported.

The Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan has updated data on the number of victims and wounded among the civilian population.

According to the ministry, 60 people have died and 270 were injured during the hostilities. 1704 private houses were damaged.

The Karabakh Defense Army published footage of the consequences of a rocket attack on the settlements of Karabakh by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces

“At night, the enemy, once again violating the humanitarian truce, subjected peaceful settlements of Artsakh, including Stepanakert, to artillery and rocket attacks,” the military department said.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev made an address to the people.

The main theses of the appeal:

• “The fascist leadership of Armenia has committed another crime against the civilian population of Azerbaijan.
• The shelling of civilians with operational-tactical missiles is a war crime and the Armenian leadership will be held accountable for these actions.
• We will answer them on the battlefield, Azerbaijan does not fire at the civilian population.
• If the Armenian armed forces do not leave our territories voluntarily, we will drive them by force.
• Why are there so many weapons in Armenia? This is a bankrupt country. What money do they use to buy these weapons? During these days alone, we have destroyed and taken in good condition military equipment worth 2 billion dollars.
• Today, our army liberated the villages of Goch Akhmedli, Chimyan, Juvarly, Pirakhmedli, Musabeyli, Ishygly, Dyadyali and the city of Fizuli from occupation in the Fizuli region! Fizuli is ours and victory is ours.
• This victory provides us with great tactical opportunities in future battles.
• Once again I appeal to the fascist leadership of Armenia: leave our lands voluntarily. And so there will be no trace of you there, but in this way you will save your life.
• No force can resist us. We will liberate our lands and then we can declare a ceasefire.
• No one has yet punished Armenia and the leadership of this country for war crimes in Khojaly these days. We will punish them ourselves.
• Pashinyan said that “Karabakh is Armenia”. I invite him to Hadrut, Fizuli and Jabrayil. Why don’t you say more about it?
• The day has come when Pashinyan will answer for his actions.
• Set before us seven conditions. Set your conditions after that. You must leave our lands.
• We will return our territories by any means. Insulting the Azerbaijani people will be very costly for the Armenian leadership.
• Our deed is true, our war is sacred.”

The death toll as a result of a missile strike on the city of Ganja has reached 13 people and another 52 civilians were injured, the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan reported.

“During the day on October 16 and on the night of October 17, the operational situation in the Agdera-Aghdam and Fizuli-Hadrut-Jebrail areas of the front remained tense.

Our troops managed to break through the pre-built defensive lines of the enemy in different directions, push the enemy out of their positions and move forward, ”the press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said.

“The armed forces of Armenia, which grossly violated the humanitarian ceasefire, are shelling the territories of Terter, Agdam, Barda and Agjabedi regions this morning,” the press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported.

At least 13 civilians were killed and more than 40 people were injured as a result of a second missile strike by the Armenian armed forces on Ganja, the second most important city in Azerbaijan, said Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev on his Twitter.

“According to ANAMA missiles fired to Ganja is SCUD/Elbrus Operative-Tactical Ballistic Missile. Fragments from the impact zone prove it. Targeting SCUD missile against densely populated civilians shows complete immorality and schizophrenic mindset of Armenia’s pol-mil leaders.”

Karabakh, day 21

• Rocket attacks and ground operations continued throughout the day of 16 October and the night of 17 October.

• At least 13 civilians were killed in a second missile strike on Ganja in Azerbaijan, said presidential adviser Hikmet Hajiyev, who said SCUD ballistic missiles were used. During the first missile strike on Ganja on October 10, 10 people were killed.

• The Azerbaijani military fired rockets at the city of Martuni and several villages in Karabakh, another civilian was killed, the Ombudsman of Karabakh said.

• According to the official data of Azerbaijan, since the beginning of the confrontation on September 27, at least 60 civilians have died, at least 250 have been wounded. Information about casualties in the military has not been reported.

• According to the official data of the Armenian side, since the beginning of the confrontation on September 27, 604 soldiers and 33 civilians have been killed.

• Armenian armed forces launched a missile attack on the territory of the autonomous republic of Nakhchivan [an Azerbaijani exclave surrounded by Armenian territories], the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said. The Armenian Defense Ministry denied the message and called it ‘Azerbaijan’s attempt to expand the geography of the conflict.’

• The European Court of Human Rights ordered Azerbaijan to ensure the right to life and health of two Armenian prisoners of war and ordered the country to provide information on the state of health of both by October 22.

• Video footage of the inhuman treatment of prisoners was disseminated on social media, which depicted allegedly Azerbaijani soldiers killing Armenian prisoners. The Ombudsman of Armenia stated that he will present evidence to international structures. The Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan stated that the clip was fabricated.

• The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry has published a new video from the Hadrut settlement in Karabakh and claims it is under the control of the Azerbaijani army. The Armenian side continues to claim that the village is controlled by the Armenian armed forces.

• The Azerbaijani army took control of three more villages in the Khojavend region adjacent to Karabakh [controlled by the Karabakh authorities after the Karabakh war in the early 1990s], the Azerbaijani president said on his Twitter. According to the official data of Azerbaijan, in total 53 settlements have been liberated.

• The Armenian Defense Ministry stated that the Karabakh Defense Army is ready to observe the humanitarian truce, which the parties agreed on in Moscow on October 10, and called on the international community to ‘name those who are to blame for the ongoing fighting despite the declared ceasefire.’

• The Greek Foreign Minister met in Yerevan with the Armenian Foreign Minister and stated that ‘Turkey’s interference in the Karabakh conflict must end.’

• News, reports, photos / videos on military operations in Karabakh for October 16, 2020