Armenia imposes martial law & orders mobilisation of military after clash with Azerbaijan

As clashes erupted between Armenia and Azerbaijan around the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia imposed martial law and ordered its military to mobilise. Armenian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Susan Stepanyan informed that two Azerbaijani helicopters were shot down and three tanks were destroyed amid the fight between the two countries. While blaming each other for September 27 attack, Armenia said that Azerbaijan had carried out an air and artillery attack on the disputed region, Azerbaijan, on the other hand, said that it had launched a counteroffensive. 

Nagorno-Karabakh is an ethnic Arminian enclave with Azerbaijan and it lies approximately 50 kilometres from the Armenian border. The region has been out of control of Azerbaijan since the end of the war in 1994, however, both the sides have a heavy military presence along a demilitarized zone separating the region from the rest of the country. Additionally, local soldiers backed by Armenia also occupy some Azerbaijani territory outside the region. 

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The two countries have long been at odds over Nagorno-Karabakh and after Sunday’s attack, Armenia declared martial law and mobilised its male population. Armenia’s defence ministry informed that its troops had destroyed three tanks, shot down two helicopters and three unmanned aerial vehicles, however, Azerbaijan’s defence ministry denied the claim. But Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in a televised address to the nation that “there are losses among the Azerbaijani forces and the civilian population as a result of the Armenian bombardment”. 

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Turkey condemns ‘Armenia’s attack’ 

The news of the attack was harshly received in Turkey, which is a close ally to Azerbaijan. While taking to Twitter, Turkey’s ruling party spokesman Omer Celik ‘vehemently’ condemned Armenia’s attack and said that country has once again committed a provocation, ignoring the law. He further promised that Turkey would stand by Azerbaijan and added: “Armenia is playing with fire and endangering regional peace”. 

Turkey’s presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin also condemned Armenia and said that they ‘violated the ceasefire’ by attacking civilian settlements. Kalin added, “the international community must immediately say stop to this dangerous provocation”. On the other hand, Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan wrote on Twitter, “We stay strong next to our army to protect our motherland from Azeri invasion”. 

(Inputs & Image: AP) 

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