Nearly 200 people have died and more than 400 have been injured in Nagorno Karabakh during the military operation launched by the Azerbaijani army in the Armenian-inhabited region. Furthermore, more than 10,000 people have been evacuated of 16 localities in the Caucasian territory.
As reported by Gegham Stepanian, defender of the Karabakh people, Among the dead were 10 civilians, five of them were children. In addition, 40 civilians were injured, of which 13 were minors.
The Azerbaijani authorities have acknowledged two civilians killed during the operation and several dead soldiers, without specifying the numbers.
The president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliev– who had demanded that Karabakhs accept Azerbaijani citizenship – promised in his television address this Wednesday that he will guarantee the rights of Armenians living in Karabakh, a territory inhabited by some 120,000 people.
The Azari army would have gone “to the end” in its military offensive if the Karabakhs did not surrender
Aliev stressed that “the source of tension” between both parties went down in history with “the capitulation” of what he called a “criminal junta”, alluding to the authorities of Nagorno Karabakh. And he assured that if the Karabakhs had not accepted the conditions, then the Azerbaijani army would have gone “to the end” in his military offensive.
Nagorno Karabakh capitulates and they will negotiate this Thursday
The authorities of the self-proclaimed republic of Nagorno-Karabakh announced this Wednesday an immediate cessation of hostilities and capitulated to Baku, who managed to take almost a hundred enemy positions in less than 24 hours.
The Karabakh defeat could mean disappearance of the separatist republic which proclaimed its independence in 1991, shortly before the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
Both sides will sit down this Thursday negotiate on the reintegration of the enclave in Azerbaijan and also on security guarantees for its Armenian population.
Kremlin rejects claims of ‘ethnic cleansing’ by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh
Russia, which has observer forces on the ground, has rejected Armenian allegations of “ethnic cleansing” at the hands of Azerbaijan. “For now there are no reasons to talk about ethnic cleansing. We have heard statements from Baku that the target is only military installations, that they do not attack civilian targets. We want to believe that this is the case,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov. .
At the same time, he stressed that, “without a doubt, this is an internal matter of Azerbaijan, operating on its territory, which was recognized by the leaders of Armenia.”
The EU calls for the security of Armenians to be guaranteed
For his part, the president of the European Council, Charles Michelasked Aliev this Wednesday that his country guarantee the rights and security of Armenians living in the disputed region.
Michel explained through his profile on the social network guarantee a complete ceasefire and decent treatment and security for Karabakh Armenians by Azerbaijan”, as well as “access to humanitarian aid”.
The community spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, Peter Stano, indicated that they now expect Azerbaijan to “stop its current military activities” and insisted that they trust that this incursion “will not be used as a pretext to force the exodus of the local population, of the Karabakh Armenians.” At the same time, he urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to start a dialogue and noted that the EU is following the situation “very closely.”
