News, reports, media on combat in Karabakh. October 24, 2020

The map shows in the form of infographics the areas that the Azerbaijani authorities have officially declared as having come under the control of the Azerbaijani army.

According to the representative of the Ministry of Defense Artsrun Hovhannisyan, the hostilities continue, there are local battles, and accordingly the map is actively changing.

(Blue arrows mark the territories where the fighting is taking place, red – the direction of retreat of the Azerbaijani armed forces, orange marks the territories that are under the control of the Azerbaijani armed forces)

During the traditional evening briefing, Hovhannisyan also said that hostilities began in the morning in all directions of the front. During the day, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces advanced from the south towards Berdzor (Lachin) and were driven back. In the north in the afternoon there was an active artillery firefight.

According to a representative of the Ministry of Defense, on Saturday, another sabotage and reconnaissance group of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, which operated in the central direction, was neutralized. We are talking about the territory south of Martuni and north of Gadrut, about areas that are adjacent to forests and settlements.

The website of the United States Embassy in Baku posted a warning about potential terrorist attacks and abductions of US citizens and foreign citizens in Baku:

“The U.S. Embassy in Baku has received credible reports of potential terrorist attacks and kidnappings against U.S. citizens and foreign nationals in Baku, including against hotels such as the J.W. Marriott Absheron, as well as potentially other locations in Baku.  U.S. citizens are advised to exercise heightened caution in locations where Americans or foreigners may gather.”

Armenian FB Zohrab Mnatsakanyan spoke at the Atlantic Council, calling talks in Washington on the Karabakh settlement very productive and reported some details of the talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other officials on the eve.

According to the Armenian minister, the negotiations discussed the possibility of an immediate ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, the possibility of sending peacekeepers to NK was considered and the parties agreed that a peaceful settlement of the conflict is possible within the framework of a single international mandate – the co-chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group.

US efforts to resolve the conflict are consolidated with the efforts of the other two OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries – Russia and France, and the mediators have a common opinion on the settlement of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

FM Mnatsakanyan said that as a result of the military conflict, 90,000 people have become refugees since the beginning of hostilities, peaceful settlements in Nagorno-Karabakh have been under constant fire, thousands of civilian infrastructure points have been destroyed.

Karabkh Ombudsman Artak Beglaryan noted that there are also missing persons:

“Considering the penetration of the Azerbaijani subversive group into Hadrut and the published videos about the killing of civilians, as well as the reports of the missing, there is a great risk that there may be other similar cases. Civilians could die and even be tortured and become victims of other war crimes.”

According to the NK ombudsman’s office, since the beginning of hostilities, as a result of shelling from the Azerbaijani side, 1,500 units of real estate, 1,500 infrastructure points and public or industrial facilities, and 1,100 vehicles have been damaged.

According to the press service of the General Prosecutor’s Office of Azerbaijan, 16-year-old Orkhan Ismayilzade was killed as a result of the shelling of the Terter region by the Armenian armed forces.

An urgent message from the press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry says:

“[Armenia] is firing on the settlements in the Terter and Barda regions.”

At night, artillery battles continued in certain sections of the front line, now local actions continue in all directions of the front.

“The units of the Defense Army suppress the offensive actions of the enemy, controlling the operational-tactical situation on the front line,” the press service of the Karabakh Defense Ministry said.

“During the day on October 23 and on the night of October 24, hostilities in the Agderin, Khojavend, Fizuli, Gadrut and Gubadli directions of the front continued with varying intensity. The enemy fired at the defensive positions of the Azerbaijani army from small arms, mortars and cannons.

Units of the Azerbaijani army continued military operations in certain areas of the front in accordance with the operational plan.

Currently, hostilities continue along the entire length of the front. Our troops are in control of the operational situation, ”the press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said.

28th day since the beginning of the fighting in Karabakh.

• In Washington, the US Secretary of State met with the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia separately. Statements have been made on the need for a peaceful settlement, the details and results of the meeting are still unknown.

• Human Rights Watch said it has confirmation that Azerbaijan is using banned cluster munitions against peaceful settlements in Karabakh.

• The President of Azerbaijan announced the capture of 13 more settlements under the control of the Azerbaijani army in four districts adjacent to Karabakh – Khojavend, Jebrail, Zangilan and Gubadli (controlled by the Armenian forces after the war in the early 1990s).

• The Armenian Defense Ministry reported that all day on October 23, the Azerbaijani military fired at the city of Martakert with the adjacent villages, as well as Berdzor: “The enemy was driven further south of Berdzor (Lachin)”.

• The President of Karabakh appealed to the President of Russia with a request “to do everything possible to end hostilities”

• The single information center of Karabakh reported that on the evening of October 23, the Azerbaijani military fired at Stepanakert and Martuni in Karabakh. The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan denies that it took such action.

• News, reports, photos / videos on military operations in Karabakh for October 23, 2020