17:50, 20 October 2020

Armenia claims Azerbaijan's offensive operation

Azerbaijani army shelling Karabakh with artillery fire on October 20, 2020. Photo by Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence https://mod.gov.az/az/news/ermenistan-silahli-quvvelerinin-ates-noqtelerine-artilleriya-bolmelerimiz-zerbeler-endirir-video-33121.html

In the morning, Azerbaijani militaries launched an offensive operation in the northern direction of the front in Nagorno-Karabakh, by using aviation and artillery, the Armenian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has informed.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 17, a truce entered into force in Nagorno-Karabakh, but the next day the parties again exchanged accusations of shelling. Today, Azerbaijan and Armenia have reported intense fighting in the conflict zone.

Full-scale hostilities began in Nagorno-Karabakh on September 27. The escalation differs from the previous exacerbations in that armed clashes are taking place along the entire frontline.

"Intense heavy fighting in the southern direction continues. The units of the Defence Army are taking measures to suppress the enemy's offensive," Shushan Stepanyan, the press secretary of the Armenian MoD, has written in her Facebook.

The continuation of the warfare in Nagorno-Karabakh will turn into a humanitarian crisis; therefore, the parties to the conflict and the world community should ensure the start of peace talks, the peacekeeping initiators in Southern Caucasus have stated. "If the hostilities are not stopped immediately, this will lead to the expansion of the instability zone of in the entire Caucasus and the next humanitarian crisis," reads the appeal, which, as of October 15, was signed by 98 people.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 19, 2020 at 07:46 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.