Armenia says Azerbaijan remains inside its territory
May 14, 2021
Tensions between the countries are simmering again after they fought a war last year over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan denies the new allegations from Armenia.
Azerbaijan called Armenia's claims "provocative".Image: Karen MINASYAN/AFP
Advertisement
Armenia said on Friday that Azerbaijan had failed to withdraw troops that had crossed the border in a disputed incident from the day before.
On Thursday, Armenia accused Azerbaijan of sending troops across the frontier. Azerbaijan has denied this and said its forces only defended their side of the frontier.
The latest tensions come after both countries last month accused the other of opening fire in Karabakh and their shared border. Last year, the two countries fought a brief war over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The border incident this week underlined the fragility of a Russian-brokered ceasefire six months ago that halted the worst fighting in decades between Azerbaijani and ethnic Armenian forces.
"Yesterday an agreement was reached that today Azerbaijan's armed forces should leave Armenian territory," Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Armenia's caretaker prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, as saying at a meeting about the border.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said the leadership of its border guards had met with the Armenian side on Friday to discuss tensions at the border. It gave few further details.
While such a meeting would not be extraordinary, as border guards from the two sides met as recently as Wednesday, it would be a sign that communications remain open.
Advertisement
US, Russia urge an end to provocation
The United States has urged Azerbaijan to withdraw its troops immediately.
"Military movements in disputed territories are irresponsible and they are also unnecessarily provocative," said State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter.
"We expect Azerbaijan to pull back all forces immediately and cease further provocation," she told reporters.
Armenia earlier Friday appealed to Russia for military support, and also said that France was considering putting the issue on the agenda of the UN Security Council.
The Kremlin said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was calling on both countries to respect peace agreements, adding that Russia would continue "active mediation efforts". "The Armenian side expressed extreme concern over the situation at the border,"
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "President Putin shared this concern."
Emmanuel Macron, France's president, called on the United Nations Security Council to resolve the matter, and urged Azerbaijan to withdraw its troops from Armenian territory.
"Azerbaijani armed forces invaded Armenian territory. They must withdraw immediately," said Macron.
The United States, which along with France is part of the Minsk Group brokering diplomatic talks on Nagorno-Karabakh, said that it was "closely following" the recent tensions.
How is Azerbaijan responding?
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan said that Pashinyan's claims were provocative and that Armenia's border troops were "taking positions that belong to Azerbaijan" in the Lachin and Kalbajar districts.
Human toll in Azerbaijan-Armenia fight for Nagorno-Karabakh
Azerbaijan and Armenia have been at war again over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in the South Caucasus for over a month. Three ceasefires have failed. The conflict is taking its toll on civilians.
Image: Julia Hahn/DW
Residential area reduced to rubble
The governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan accuse each other of deliberately bombing civilian targets. For example, part of the city of Shusha in Nagorno-Karabakh's famous 19th-century cathedral was destroyed in early October. According to authorities in the Nagorno-Karabakh region , Azerbaijani troops are just a few kilometers from the strategically important city.
Image: Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure/Reuters
Destroyed livelihood
Ragiba Guliyeva stands in the ruins of her house in Ganja, Azerbaijan's second largest city, which was hit in a rocket attack. "I was in the kitchen when beams and stones rained on me all of a sudden," she said. "I screamed as loudly as I could." Ganja is dozens of kilometers from the front. The government of Azerbaijan blames Armenian troops for the attack.
Image: Julia Hahn/DW
Mourning the children
Several people were killed in the attack on Ganja, according to Azerbaijani authorities. Guliyeva's 13-year-old grandson, Artur, was one of the victims. At a church service, teachers and classmates paid their respects. According to official figures, at least 130 civilians were killed on both sides.
Image: Julia Hahn/DW
Volunteering for the front
Authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh say 1,200 soldiers have died since fighting started in September. Azerbaijan's government has not reported the extent of its military losses. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently mentioned a total of 5,000 people dead on both sides. Young men keep on volunteering for service at the front, such as these fighters in the Nagorno-Karabakh capital, Stepanakert.
Image: Aris Messinis/AFP
A decades-old conflict
The region has been controlled by Armenian separatists since Azerbaijan's government lost control in a territorial war from 1988 to 1994. A fragile ceasefire has been in effect since. The painting in a school in Barda honors a soldier who died.
Image: Julia Hahn/DW
International intervention?
Propaganda and war rhetoric govern everyday life in Azerbaijan, which is ruled by an authoritarian regime. The government, in Baku, receives weapons and expressions of solidarity from Turkey. Russia is the protective power for Armenia's government, in Yerevan. Observers warn that the regional powers could actively intervene in the conflict.
Image: Julia Hahn/DW
Holding out in shelters
Regional authorities estimate that half of the residents, or 75,000 people, could flee the fighting. Residents who remain continue to hold out in basements and shelters.
Image: Stanislav Krasilnikov/ITAR-TASS/imago images
The coronavirus in a conflict zone
Life in shelters has become routine for many Stepanakert residents. The rooms are crowded and poorly ventilated. The people are safe from the bomb attacks, but doctors warn of a rapid spread of the coronavirus. There are no officials figures, but some doctors have estimated that about half of the shelters' residents test positive on a daily basis.
Image: Vahram Baghdasaryan/Photolure/Reuters
Classrooms as emergency shelters
People fled the fighting in Azerbaijan, too, including from the town of Terter, which is right on the front. Some found refuge in neighboring Barda, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Nagorno-Karabakh, where schools have been used as emergency shelters since the end of September. But they are not safe either.
Image: Julia Hahn/DW
The front approaches
Several buildings were destroyed and cars burned out during an air raid on Barda a few days ago. Azerbaijani authorities reported at least 21 dead and dozens injured. The Armenian government denied the attack, but Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev, pledged "retaliation on the battlefield" and "revenge."
Image: Julia Hahn/DW
No foreseeable peace
The fighting continues. The government of Azerbaijan has demanded the complete withdrawal of Armenian troops from Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia's prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, has officially asked Russia for help. The Foreign Ministry has pledged Russia's "necessary assistance" should the fighting shift to Armenian territory.
Image: Vahram Baghdasaryan/Photolure/Reuters
11 images1 | 11
Armenia had handed these districts over to Azerbaijan last year as part of a ceasefire agreement.
"Azerbaijan is committed to defusing the tensions in the region and urges to take steps in that direction," said the country's foreign ministry. The country dismissed the accusations and said that it was enforcing its own border.
It said that Armenia's reaction to the development was "inadequate" and "provocative."
Pashinyan claimed Azerbaijani forces advanced 3 kilometers (2 miles) into southern Armenia in an act of "infiltration." He said that Armenia's soldiers had responded with an "appropriate tactical maneuver."
"It is an encroachment on the sovereign territory of Armenia," Pashinyan said. "This is an act of subversive infiltration."
Armenia's prosecutor general has reportedly opened a criminal case into this "infringement" of territorial integrity by Azerbaijan.
Armenia's leader accused Azerbaijan of attempting to "lay siege" to Sev Lich lake, which is divided between the two countries.
