Azerbaijan’s defence ministry has released footage of the destruction of ‘Armenian’ artillery, tanks and air defence systems which it claims violated the ceasefire on Saturday.
Warning: Footage below may not be suitable for all viewers.
The first video shows attacks from the air on multiple artillery pieces and troops in trenches. The second shows strikes on enemy armoured vehicles. A third shows the destruction of enemy air defence systems.
Earlier Saturday, Azerbaijan’s defence ministry accused the Armenian side of attempting to carry out an offensive to regain territories lost in recent fighting. “As a result of preventative measures taken by our forces, the enemy, suffering numerous losses in manpower and equipment, was forced to retreat,” the ministry said in a statement.
According to Azerbaijani authorities, enemy artillery shelling of villages in southwestern Azerbaijani regions of Terter and Agdam killed a 46-year-old civilian.
The Armenian defence ministry claims it was the Azerbaijani side that broke the ceasefire. According to ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan, forces from the Karabakh Defence Army took “appropriate measures to repel the enemy’s attack.”
On Saturday evening, a Sputnik correspondent in Stepanakert, capital of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh republic, reported that an air-raid siren had sounded, prompting local residents to run for cover to basements and bomb shelters.
The ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh formally stepped into force at 12:00 pm local time October 10. However, both sides have since accused one another of violating the agreement to halt hostilities.
In an interview which aired Saturday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told Germany’s ZDF TV that Armenian recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh may be ‘a way out of the current situation’. Accusing of Azerbaijan of seeking to carry out an ethnic cleansing campaign in Karabakh with Turkey's support, Pashinyan reiterated the Armenian side’s allegation that mercenaries from Syria are being used in the conflict. Baku has repeatedly dismissed the 'mercenaries' claims, and suggested that its operations in Karabakh were aimed at 'liberating' the region.
Three Decade-Old Conflict
Nagorno-Karabakh saw an explosion of fighting on September 27, with each side accusing the other of sparking the hostilities. The flare-up has led to the deaths of over 50 civilians, with more than 250 others receiving injuries of varying severity. The Armenian side claims that over 4,300 Azeri troops and mercenaries have been killed in the fighting, while Azerbaijan claims that over 2,300 Armenian troops have been killed or injured. Between 70,000-75,000 civilians from Nagorno-Karabakh are reported to have been displaced.
