Armenia and Azerbaijan swap accusations after fatal border violence

• Armenia and Azerbaijan blame each other for clashes that erupted along their border overnight.
• At least 49 Armenian troops were killed in cross-border attacks by Azerbaijani troops, Armenia’s defence ministry says.
• It is the deadliest fighting between the rival neighbours since their 2020 war over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have traded blame for border battles, the bloodiest combat between the hostile neighbours since their 2020 conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh area.

The hostilities occurred in the early hours of Tuesday morning, according to Armenia’s defence ministry, when Azerbaijani forces launched cross-border attacks employing “artillery, mortars, drones, and large-calibre rifles,” killing at least 49 Armenian personnel.

According to the ministry, the strikes targeted both military and civilian facilities in and around a number of cities and villages, including Vardenis, Sotk, Artanish, Ishkhanasar, Goris, Jermuk, and Kapan, forcing it to retaliate.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan related the occurrences to the long-running disagreement over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, claiming that the Azeri administration refused to negotiate over the enclave, which is located within Azerbaijan but is primarily populated by ethnic Armenians.

Azerbaijan, on the other hand, denied inciting the conflict, stating that its troops were responding to “large-scale provocations” by the Armenian military.

After stockpiling weaponry along the border and attempting to mine Azerbaijani positions, Armenian forces fired on Azerbaijani military positions in the Dashkasan, Kalbajar, and Lachin areas, resulting in unspecified injuries and damage to military infrastructure.

Later that day, Azerbaijan’s defence ministry announced the deaths of 50 military members following nocturnal fighting with Armenia.

As the combat looked to be easing, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s office issued a statement saying the country’s armed forces were in command of the “situation along the border.” Meanwhile, Armenia’s defence ministry cautioned that the situation in several border districts remained “very tense.”

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