News, reports, media on combat in Karabakh. October 30, 2020

Representative of the Armenian Defense Ministry Artsrun Hovhannisyan said that throughout the day heavy fighting continued in almost all directions. North of the Araks River, the Armenian forces retain some positional advantages, but fighting continues and the situation may change.
Hovhannisyan also said that after a successful operation of the Armenian Armed Forces near the village of Karmir Shuka, Martuni region, battles with diversion groups are underway.
Today, hostilities were also taking place on the southern border of Armenia, in the direction of the village of David-Bek, located near the city of Kapan in the Syunik region of Armenia. This area came under artillery fire. There is no specific information about the number of victims yet.

Artak Beglaryan reports on Twitter that as a result of shelling from the Azerbaijani side in the village of Aknakhbyur, a 60-year-old resident was killed and 6 more people were injured.

#Breaking!
As a result of #Azerbaijan shelling, in Aknaghbyur village of #Artsakh/#Karabakh, 60YO Sergey Balayan was killed & 6 other civilians have been wounded.
Azerbaijan continues deliberately/indiscriminately targeting civilian areas & population.#WarCrime #DontBeBlind

— Artak Beglaryan (@Artak_Beglaryan) October 30, 2020

Ex presidents of Armenia Robert Kocharyan and Levon Ter-Petrosyan had intended to go to Moscow to discuss the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh with the Russian political elite and then propose “concrete solutions” to the current government. However, to enter Russia, Kocharyan had to submit to a coronavirus test, which turned out to be positive.

Former presidents of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Robert Kocharyan intend to discuss the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh with the Russian political elite in Moscow and then propose “concrete solutions” to the current government. Press Secretary of the Prime Minister of Armenia Mane Gevorgyan announced this on her Facebook page.

In her words, Nikol Pashinyan agreed with this proposal, stressing that he cannot impede upon any steps for the good of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

“According to our information, the ex-presidents have not left Armenia yet. In any case, the Prime Minister and the government are open to proposals for resolving the situation and have never refused to discuss such proposals,” the press secretary writes.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on his Twitter listed 9 settlements that came under the control of the Azerbaijani army:

Jabrayil region: villages Khudaverdili, Gurbantepe, Shahveledli, Khubyarli;

Zengilan region: villages of Aladin, Vejneli;

Gubadly region: villages of Kavdadig, Memer and Mollali.

Victorious Armed Forces of Azerbaijan have liberated Khudaverdili, Gurbantepe, Shahveledli and Khubyarli villages of Jabrayil, Aladin and Vejneli villages of Zengilan, Kavdadig, Memer and Mollali villages of Gubadli. Long live Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces! Karabakh is Azerbaijan!

— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) October 30, 2020

The Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan has updated the data on the number of dead and wounded civilians.

“Since the beginning of hostilities, 91 civilians have died, 400 people have been injured. Among the dead there was 1 infant, 10 children, 27 women, 53 men and 15 elderly people,”the ministry said.

“At present, the Armenian armed forces from the direction of the Goris region are shelling the territory of the Gubadly region,” the press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported.

Arman Tatoyan reports on his official Facebook page that 84-year-old Misha Melkumyan, a civilian, died in Azerbaijani captivity at night.
Misha Melkumyan was one of those whom the Azerbaijani side intended to transfer to the Armenian on October 29. Initially, Azerbaijan announced that, through the mediation of Russia, 30 bodies of dead servicemen and two elderly who were found alive during the hostilities in Hadrut were transferred. However, the Armenian side reported that 29 bodies of the dead and one prisoner were transferred.
The State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons of Azerbaijan then stated that the Armenian side refused to accept 84-year-old Misha Melkumyan.
The Ombudsman of Armenia dismissed this statement.
As a result of a request to the relevant authorities of Armenia, it turned out that the state of health of the elderly prisoner did not allow him to be transported – according to the doctors’ conclusion, he was not transportable.

“On October 30, from 07:35, the territory of the Goranboy, Terter, Agdam and Agjabedi regions is under artillery fire. The Azerbaijani army is taking appropriate measures,” the press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said.

The units of the Defense Army of Karabakh, as reported by the press service of the Ministry of Defense, repulsed night attacks, and also carried out search and reconnaissance operations in the areas of deployment of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.

“At present, operations to search for and destroy enemy groups are underway,” the press service says.

“During the day on October 29 and on the night of October 30, units of the armed forces of Armenia fired from various types of weapons, including rockets and artillery, the positions of units of the Azerbaijan Army and settlements in different directions of the front.

Combat operations continued mainly on the Agderin, Khojavend and Gubadli directions of the front, ”the press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said.

Fighting in and around Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan has been going on for more than a month.

• “The adversary is 5 km from Shushi” [the second largest city in Karabakh]”, said the president of Karabakh and called on everyone to unite and prevent the capture of the city.

• The Armenian military fired at the Goranboy and Tartar regions of Azerbaijan, another local resident was killed, the aide to the President of Azerbaijan said. It is reported that from the Azerbaijani side, since the beginning of the fighting on September 27, 90 civilians have been killed.

• “Stepanakert, Shushi and surrounding settlements remain the targets of the Azerbaijani military.  A Smerch rocket system is being used for shelling”, the Karabakh Defense Ministry said.

• Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch confirmed the use of banned cluster munitions by Armenia in shelling the Azerbaijani town of Barda on 28 October.  21 people died there, more than 60 were injured. “HRW analyzed photographs of ammunition fragments taken by international and local journalists, as well as residents of Barda. During the shelling, ammunition prohibited by international conventions was used,” the organization said.

• The first handover of the bodies of dead servicemen took place thanks to the efforts of Russia, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office.  Azerbaijan reported that it handed over 30 bodies of Armenian soldiers, and also handed over two elderly people who were found alive during the fighting in Hadrut. Armenia reported that 29 bodies of Armenian soldiers were handed over, and one civilian was also transferred alive.

• The Karabakh Defense Army has published lists of legitimate military targets located in the cities of Barda and Ganja in Azerbaijan. Both cities were bombed by the Armenian military, and dozens of civilians were killed there.

• The European Court ordered the Azerbaijani government to provide information on five more Armenian prisoners of war by November 3, said a representative of the families of Armenian prisoners of war at the European Court of Human Rights. Armenia claims that there are a total of 17 captured Armenian soldiers in Azerbaijan.

• The President of Azerbaijan signed a decree “On the organization of administration in the territories liberated from occupation”, where commandant’s offices are being created.

• “[It is necessary] to talk about the transfer of five plus two regions to Azerbaijan with the provision of a certain regime for the Karabakh zone. A long-term settlement is to find a balance of interests that would suit both parties. For the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, it is necessary to stop hostilities in order to sit down at the negotiating table,” the Russian president said.

• News, reports, photos / videos on military operations in Karabakh for October 29, 2020