Month: April 2016

Heavy fighting continues in the northern and southern directions of the line of contact of armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, Spokesman for the Armenian Ministry of Defense Artsrun Hovhannisyan said. He added, however, that the Armenian side holds the initiative and there can be no talk about Azerbaijan’s success.

“We continue to take measures to restrain the actions of the rival, and are dictating the situation on many sections of the frontline. It should be noted, however, that the heavy fighting continues at some parts of the line of contact, where the rival has accumulated a large amount of armaments,” he said.

The Spokesman advises to ignore Azeri reports on the loss of Armenian troops and combat equipment and notes that the information is meant to create panic, as information war is an indispensable part of contemporary war.

The Armenian forces have destroyed another Azerbaijani tank, a BM-21 (Grad) Multiple Launch Rocket System, an artillery system, engineering equipment, and one drone, the NKR Defense Ministry reports.

The Ministry will provide further information on developments.

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has convened consultations on the situation in Nagorno Karabakh. Senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, power structures and other bodies participated in the talks, Georgian Government’s Press Service reports.

The Prime Minister expressed concern over the aggravation of situation along the Nagorno Karabakh line of contact and resumption of military actions.

Kvirikashvili voiced hope that the hostilities would be ceased thanks to efforts of the international community and said ‘it’s important for the region.’

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian briefed Knesset’s Vice-Speaker Tali Ploskov on the situation in the Karabakh conflict zone established as a result of the large-scale military actions unleashed by Azerbaijan.

The Minister noted that Armenia and the international community are united in the opinion that the Karabakh conflict should be solved exceptionally in a peaceful way.

The interlocutors discussed issues on Armenia-Israel cooperation agenda and hailed the active collaboration on the parliamentary level.

Tali Ploskov noted that centuries-old friendly relations have been established between the Armenian and Jewish peoples and pledged to take additional steps towards their reinforcement.

On 3 April Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan convoked a working consultation on the current situation along the borderline and measures undertaken by the Defense Army towards rebuffing the enemy’s criminal encroachments.
The Head of the State gave concrete instructions to the Defense Ministry and heads of all the appropriate structures towards proper implementation of the discussed issues.
Primate of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church Archbishop Pargev Martirossyan, premier Arayik Haroutyunyan, defense minister Levon Mnatsakanyan and other officials partook at the consultation.

 

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is concerned about the humanitarian impact of fighting along the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh, which seriously deteriorated on 2 April 2016. Casualties reported on both sides included civilians.

“We are ready to assist and support those affected by the recent escalation of fighting, as well as to act as a neutral intermediary between the parties”, said Patrick Vial, head of the operations for the region. “All sides to the conflict have an obligation to respect the rules of international humanitarian law. As per these rules, the parties must ensure that civilian life and infrastructure is protected”, he added.

The ICRC has been present in the region since 1992 in relation to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Through the delegations in Baku and Yerevan and the mission in Nagorno-Karabakh, the ICRC supports communities living along the line of contact and international border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In addition, the ICRC works to clarify the fate of missing persons and help their families, visits detainees and acts as a neutral intermediary to facilitate transfer and repatriation of persons released on both sides of the border and the line of contact.

The NKR Defense Army has released a video, proving Azeri lies about the number of casualties along the Nagorno Karabakh line of contact.

Footage shows 21 Azeri troops killed in one battle, while the Azerbaijani side puts the number at 12.

“The Video shows the bodies of the Azeri soldiers, who were claimed to have conquered Seysulan, while Seysulan has been Armenian, and will stay Armenian,” the Ministry of Defense says in a statement.

The ‪‎EU‬–‪Armenia‬ Friendship Group in the ‪European‬ ‪Parliament‬ has issued a statement on ‪Karabakh‬ escalation:

The bloody incidents, which erupted along the frontiers of ‪Azerbaijan‬ and‪ ‎NagornoKarabakh‬, on 2 April, 2016, constitute developments that can lead to a wider conflict and blow up the ‪Caucasus‬ region.

It is obvious that the escalation of the crisis puts stability and peace at a high risk. The EU and the international community in general bear their own responsibility since, for many years, they underestimated how dangerous the dormant conflict in Nagorno Karabakh is. Therefore, the EU should take initiatives and diplomatic actions with the aim of mobilizing the international community and thus prevent a further escalation of the crisis.

The current developments, with more than 36 soldiers and civilians from both sides losing their lives, come to prove the need for a comprehensive solution based on the right to self – determination. If international community and particularly the EU do not intensify their efforts towards a democratic solution, a new catastrophic war is to come.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin has urged the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to step up efforts towards settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

“Concerned about the serious aggravation of the situation in Nagorno Karabakh. I urge the OSCE MG co-chairs to step up negotiations for a settlement,” Klimkin said in a Twitter post.

Занепокоєний серйозним загостренням ситуації в Нагірному Карабасі. Закликаю співголів МГ ОБСЄ активізувати переговори для врегулювання.

— Pavlo Klimkin (@PavloKlimkin)

The first groups of volunteers from Armenian have arrived in Artsakh. Thousands are volunteering to join the soldiers on the frontline as heavy fighting continues along the Nagorno Karabakh line of contact.