Azerbaijan launched a military operation against Armenian forces in Karabakh

 Azerbaijan announced - today, Tuesday - that it has launched “anti-terrorism operations” targeting Armenian forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. While Armenia denied the presence of its forces in this disputed territory and called on the international community to take action to stop what it described as Baku’s “aggression” against Karabakh.

Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense announced - in a statement - that its forces had directed strikes with precision weapons against Armenian forces and military sites, noting that the goal of this military operation was to remove Armenian armed formations from what it described as “the lands of Azerbaijan” and to destroy the Armenian military infrastructure in the region.

This ministry also said that the operation aims to end Armenia’s provocations and provide protection for those returning to the “liberated areas,” as described in the statement.

Azerbaijani defense statement reported that two of its soldiers were injured this morning as a result of what it described as an Armenian military provocation.

The Ministry itself indicated that civilians in the region can leave through humanitarian corridors to Armenia or other destinations.

The Azerbaijani Defense also announced - in another statement today - that its army positions were subjected to intense fire with various weapons by the Armenian armed forces present in the region.

For its part, the Armenian Ministry of Defense said that Azerbaijan is waging a large-scale aggression against the region and that it has targeted its forces and military sites with strikes using precision weapons.

Russian websites also reported that Azerbaijan's airspace was closed to Armenian aircraft, and communications were cut off from the capital of Karabakh.

For its part, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said that her country is concerned about the escalation of tension in Nagorno-Karabakh. The ministry also announced that Moscow is conducting contacts regarding the situation in the region with Yerevan and Baku, and urged both sides of the conflict to implement the agreements regarding Nagorno-Karabakh to be able to settle instead of inflaming the situation.

Moscow said that its peacekeeping forces are in contact with the Armenians of Karabakh and the Azerbaijani authorities to reach a ceasefire, while the European Union representative for the South Caucasus called for an immediate ceasefire in the region and dialogue to achieve peaceful coexistence.

Source: Agencies