News, reports, media on combat in Karabakh. October 16, 2020

More than 10 civilians killed and at least 40 wounded as a result of the second rocket attack of the Armenian armed forces on the city of Ganja in Azerbaijan – Adviser to the President of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev writes in 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”

During the traditional evening briefing on the situation at the front, Artsrun Hovhannisyan said that from early in the morning the Azerbaijani Armed Forces launched a large-scale offensive.

“After two fierce attacks in the north, our troops drove the enemy back. In the north, the enemy was unable to occupy either a height or a position, ”a representative of the Armenian Defense Ministry said.

According to Artsrun Hovhannisyan, the Armenian troops regrouped in the south of Karabakh – heavy fighting continues to this day.

The decision of the European Court of Human Rights is reported by the former Minister of Justice of Armenia, the representative of two Armenian servicemen in the ECHR Artak Zeynalyan on his Facebook page.

An application for urgent action on behalf of two prisoners of war was submitted to the ECHR two days ago.

“Considering that episodes of gross violations of humanitarian law by Azerbaijan were revealed, a statement was again sent to the ECHR. The document presented evidence of war crimes against prisoners with the participation of servicemen of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan. As a result, the court satisfied the demand of the Armenian side, ”Artak Zeynalyan reports.

The European Court satisfied the claim of the Armenian applicants, and also ordered Azerbaijan to provide the court with information about the state of health of Areg Sargsyan and Narek Amirjanian by October 22.

The Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan called the video footage of the alleged illegal treatment of Armenian prisoners by Azerbaijani servicemen, as well as the indifferent attitude of doctors towards them, “fake”, which circulated in social networks.

“As a result of the investigation, it became clear that the video was fabricated.

The cadres have nothing to do with either the combat activities of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, or our society, ”the press service of the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office said.

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry published a video from the Hadrut village, which is under the control of the Azerbaijani army.

“Azerbaijan’s glorious Army has liberated Khirmanjig, Agbulag and Akhullu villages of Khojavend district. Long live Azerbaijan’s Army! Karabakh is Azerbaijan!” – Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev wrote on his Twitter account.

Azerbaijan’s glorious Army has liberated Khirmanjig, Agbulag and Akhullu villages of Khojavend district. Long live Azerbaijan’s Army! Karabakh is Azerbaijan!

— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) October 16, 2020

The name of the operated person is Yulsiyv Nuradin Bakhtiyaroglu. He has been in the hospital for 10 days.

Ombudsman of Karabakh Artak Beglaryan said:

“He is being provided with medical assistance and a humane attitude … Appropriate medical assistance was provided and is being provided not only to him, but to all the other prisoners of war.”

This attitude is dictated, according to Beglaryan, by international law and local legislation.

Yerevan believes that the co-chairs in their statements should indicate the specific perpetrators of the violation of the humanitarian truce.

The statement speaks of the readiness of the Karabakh Defense Army to observe the humanitarian truce, which the parties agreed on in Moscow on October 10:

“In this regard, we call on the international community, in particular, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, in their statements and appeals, to specifically name the side of the conflict, which by various means and methods avoids compliance with the ceasefire regime and the approval of verification mechanisms.”

As a result of the night strikes by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on settlements in Karabakh, there is another victim, Artak Beglaryan reports on his Facebook page.

“Azerbaijan, violating all legal and humanitarian norms, continues to kill peaceful citizens of Nagorno-Karabakh,” he writes.

On the night of October 16, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces fired intensely towards the city of Martuni and the settlement of Karmir Shuka, and in the morning – towards the Berdashen community. The villages of Tokh, Tigranavan, Aygeovit and Ahavno were also shelled.

The press secretary of the Armenian Defense Ministry Shushan Stepanyan writes on his Facebook page that no rockets were fired in this direction:

“This is another lie of the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan, which seeks to expand the geography of the conflict.”

Nikos Dendias in Yerevan, after a meeting with his Armenian counterpart Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, said that external interference in the Karabakh conflict is a concern for Greece. He told reporters that the Greek authorities are working to ensure that a demand for Turkey’s non-intervention was voiced at level of the EU.

The Greek Foreign Minister also stated that Athens had recalled its ambassador from Baku and was closely following the process in Karabakh. The Greek authorities believe that the resolution of the Karabakh conflict is possible only through peaceful negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group.

“An operational-tactical missile fired on October 15 at 10:44 by the armed forces of Armenia from the territory of the occupied Gubadli region exploded in the Ordubad region of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. Civilians and civilian objects were not injured, ”the press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said.

“The shelling of Goranboy, Terter, Agdam, Agjabad and Fizuli regions of Azerbaijan from the Armenian Armed Forces continues,” the press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said.

The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan published the first footage from the villages of the Khojavend (Martuni) region, which came under the control of the Azerbaijani army.

Arman Tatoyan received two videos and photographs that prove the inhumane treatment of prisoners by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. This footage was disseminated on social media on October 15. In the video, Azerbaijani soldiers humiliate and then shoot two unarmed men aged 73 and 25, after which they continue to shoot at their bodies.

Both were deprived of the opportunity to defend themselves and actually had the status of a prisoner, one of them was a resident of the city of Hadrut, the other was from the village of Taik, Hadrut region. The crime was committed during the penetration of a diversion group of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces into the city of Hadrut.

“These shots are already considered irrefutable legal evidence of a war crime. Video recordings and photographs with the necessary description … will be sent to international structures,” the Ombudsman said.

A criminal case has been launched into the murder committed by Azerbaijan servicemen in Karabakh under the article “murder with a serious violation of the norms of international humanitarian law during armed clashes”.

“During the day on October 15 and on the night of October 16, the operational situation in the Agdera-Aghdam and Fizuli-Hadrut areas of the front remained tense.

Yesterday during the day, [Armenia] fired rockets, artillery and mortars at the positions of our units in the Jabrayil and Hadrut directions liberated from the occupation, as well as villages near the front line.

At night, [the Armenian forces] tried to activate in some areas of the front. Our troops suppressed the activity of the enemy, and he suffered heavy losses,” 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 Goranboy, Terter, Agdam and Agjabedi regions this morning,” the press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said.

After intense shelling in the early morning, which lasted for about an hour, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale offensive in the northern direction of the front. According to the representative of the Ministry of Defense Artsrun Hovhannisyan, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces tried several times to occupy Armenian positions by “waves of attacks”, but were repulsed with significant losses.

20th day since the beginning of fighting in Karabakh.

• Rocket attacks and ground operations continued all day on October 15 and partly on the night of October 16.

• Armenia has reported that since the beginning of the confrontation on September 27, 604 servicemen and 33 civilians have been killed.

• From the Azerbaijani side, 47 civilians have been killed and 222 wounded since the beginning of the fighting. President Ilham Aliyev said yesterday that casualties among servicemen will be announced “after the active phase of the conflict”.

• According to the Armenian side, the village of Karmir Shuka (Red Market) in the Martuni region of Karabakh was fired at with Smerch cluster shells, a local resident was killed. This information was dismissed by Azerbaijan as false.

• In the city of Terter, Azerbaijan, 3 people were killed during a funeral, and three more were wounded as a result of shelling by the Armenian armed forces, said Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev on Twitter.

• In Karabakh, restrictions were imposed on the free movement of people and transport.

• The Azerbaijani army took control of six more villages in areas adjacent to Karabakh [ed. controlled by the Karabakh authorities since the Karabakh war in the early 1990s], the Azerbaijani president said on his Twitter. Thus, according to the official data of Azerbaijan, a total of 50 settlements have been taken by the Azerbaijani side.

• Leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan, answered six questions from Russian state news agency RIA-Novosti. JAMnews boiled down the main points of the interview – on ‘red lines’, compromises, mercenaries and how fighting may proceed 👇

• Leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan on the intermediate conclusions of the war in Karabakh

• Moscow hopes for the earliest possible launch of a mechanism to control the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, but so far no discussion of such a mechanism has begun, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

• The Austrian Parliament unanimously adopted a resolution condemning Turkey’s military intervention in the Karabakh conflict.

• News, reports, photos / videos on military operations in Karabakh for October 15, 2020