09:09, 8 November, 2020
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. President of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan has announced that the defenders of the Homeland are standing until the end in the ongoing fight for life or death.
“Dear compatriots, I met one of the most difficult daybreaks of my life at the Revival Square in Stepanakert. We stand with the defenders of our Homeland until the end. The fight for life or death continues”, the President said on Facebook.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
19:15, 8 November, 2020
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani armed forces bombed the capital of Artsakh Stepanakert on November 8 at 18:30, injuring one civilian, ARMENPRESS was informed from the State Service of the Emergency Situation of Artsakh.
‘’During the day the situation in Artsakh’s settlements was stable but tense.
The stable situation in Stepanakert continued until 18:30. A while ago the city was bombed. There is one injured among the civilians.
The rescuers provided first aid to the injured and took to a medical center. His life is under risk.
Air raid siren in Martakert was activated twice today. The adversary tried to use military aviation against the city.
The situation in Martuni city was again calm. Today the adversary used heavy artillery here at midday against civilian infrastructures.
The situation was relatively calm in Askeran, Kashatagh and Shahumyan regions’’, reads the statement.
22:15, 1 November, 2020
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijani armed forces, reinforced by terrorist groups, continued attacks in different directions of Artsakh-Azerbaijan front line on November 1, ARMENPRESS reports representative of the MoD Armenia Artsrun Hovhannisyan said in a press conference.
‘’Attacks mainly were in small groups, they were mainly local clashes, I some places artillery was used, in some places also air force was used.
Actually, during the entire day no notable changes of positions took place in any direction’’, Hovhannisyan said, adding that the clashes still continue.
October 28, 2020
AYF members go on hunger strike to demand justice for Artsakh
LOS ANGELES—On Monday, October 26, the Armenian Youth Federation Western United States began a hunger strike in-front of the Federal Building in Los Angeles to call attention to war crimes being committed against Armenians. The hunger strike will culminate in a community-wide march on Sunday from the Federal Building to the Azerbaijani Consulate.
The hunger strikers are demanding the United States to recognize the Independent Republic of Artsakh, hold sanctions against Turkey and Azerbaijan for their blatant aggression in the region and escalation of war.
The hunger strike comes on the heels of a war that has been going on for over 30 days now — with confirmed reports of Turkey fueling the conflict by supplying weaponry and sending jihadist mercenaries to Azerbaijan. Armenians in the diaspora — many of whom were displaced during the genocide committed by Turkey in 1915 — have been protesting around the world to raise awareness and demand a call to action from the international community.
The AYF-WUS decided to hold the hunger strike in front of the Federal Building in Los Angeles because “As American citizens, we are tired of our taxpayer money going to nations like Turkey and Azerbaijan who are committing war crimes against innocent civilians” stated Aram Manoukian, AYF-WUS Chairperson.
“The world needs to open their eyes to the violence being perpetrated upon Armenians in the region, a landlocked Christian nation who is forced to defend itself against dictators like Aliyev from Azerbaijan and Erdogan from Turkey” stated Alik Ourfalian, an AYF-WUS member.
The young activists say the hunger strike will culminate up to a march on Sunday from the Federal Building to the Azerbaijani Consulate, beginning at 11a.m.
Founded in 1933, the Armenian Youth Federation is the largest and the most influential Armenian-American youth organization in the United States, working to advance the social, political, educational and cultural awareness among Armenian-American youth.
Around 75 people gathered in Midtown Anchorage Saturday, to speak out about violence against Armenians as tensions escalate in a longstanding conflict with Azerbaijan.
Fighting is ongoing in a conflict over the territory of Nagorno Karabakh.
Rita Osipyan of Wasilla was among those speaking out in Anchorage.
“We’re here to have a peaceful protest against the silence that’s been going on in this country and worldwide because of non-recognition of this Armenian territory we call Artsakh,” said Osipyan.
Roughly 75 people marched at an October 17 rally in Anchorage opposing the Azerbaijani violence against Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, a de facto independent state between Azerbaijan and Armenia. (Jeff Chen/Alaska Public Media)
The rally was organized by Armenians of Alaska. The organization wants to see the United States cut all military aid to Azerbaijan and Turkey, which is backing Azerbaijan. They also want to see the U.S. place political and economic sanctions on the two countries.
Yeva Sharp lived in Armenia until a few years ago, and says she’s worried about her friends and family back home.
“I left Armenia five years ago, we came to U.S. and I want to make sure my family, my bother’s family, my friends and other family members, they live and they sleep peacefully,” said Sharp.
Conflict in the region goes back decades, but recent clashes began at the end of September.
Jeff Chen contributed to this story.
Artsakh will retaliate very soon, with no mercy – Atrtsakh President’s spokesperson
21:39,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 23, ARMENPRESS. The Defense Army of Artsakh will retaliate to the bombing of Stepanakert very soon, ARMENPRESS reports spokesperson of Artsakh’s President Vahram Poghosyan wrote on his Facebook page.
‘’Stepanakert was once again bombed by Azerbaijan a while ago. The Defense Army will retaliate very soon. We had warned long ago. There will be no mercy’’, Poghosyan wrote.
”A while ago Azerbaijan fired a number of powerful missiles against Stepanakert’s residential buildings. There is still no information about casualties”, Artsakh’s Human Right Defender wrote in his Twitter micro blog.
The Swiss foreign ministry has called for an immediate stop to the violence in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It has also allocated CHF1 million ($1.1 million) to the humanitarian operations of the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
“Attacks on the civilian population and civilian objects must cease. The parties to the conflict are called upon to comply with international humanitarian law,” the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
The contribution was being made in response to an appeal by the ICRC, it said.
“Furthermore, the ministry expresses Switzerland’s regret that the humanitarian ceasefires of October 10 and 17 have not been respected. It reiterates its call to the parties to the conflict to stop the violence and condemns the ongoing shelling of residential areas.”
Observance of the principles of distinction and proportionality were paramount, it added. “This also means that cluster munitions must not be used, as such weapons do not make any distinction between civilians and combatants.”
The Swiss government said that it was only through peaceful means that a lasting solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict could be found. The foreign ministry therefore called on both parties to the conflict “to resume meaningful negotiations without delay or preconditions”.
A ceasefire in the mountain territory of Nagorno-Karabakh was under severe strain on Tuesday after fierce new clashes between Azeri and ethnic Armenian forces fighting their deadliest battles since the 1990s.
The ceasefire, agreed on Saturday, has had little impact on fighting that began on September 27, despite concerns it could spark a wider conflict involving Russia and Turkey.
Several hundred people have been killed since September 27 in fighting involving drones, warplanes, heavy artillery, tanks and missiles, raising fears of a humanitarian crisis and concerns about the security of oil and gas pipelines in Azerbaijan.
The new ceasefire appears to have had no more effect on fighting than an earlier deal brokered by Russia that failed.
Azerbaijan wants an end to what it calls Armenian occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia rules this out and accuses Azerbaijan of making a land grab.
Azerbaijan and Armenia announced Saturday that they had agreed to a new cease-fire beginning at midnight, the second attempt in a week to temper almost three weeks of fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“The Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan have agreed to a humanitarian truce as of October 18, 00h00 local time,” Armenia’s foreign ministry said late Saturday.
Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry issued an identical statement.
The announcements came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke by phone with his Armenian and Azeri counterparts. Lavrov and French President Emmanuel Macron both stressed that the cease-fire must be strictly observed by both sides.
Earlier Saturday, Azerbaijan and Armenia accused each other of new attacks, a further indication that violence has escalated in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in violation of a Russian-brokered truce that took effect a week ago.
Authorities in Azerbaijan said an Armenian missile attack on the city of Ganja killed at least 13 people and wounded 50 others in early hours of Saturday, while Armenia accused Azerbaijan of more shelling.
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said that the cities of Ganja and Mingachevir were hit with missiles fired from two locations in Armenia.
According to official sources in Azerbaijan, Saturday’s missile attacks destroyed at least 20 residential buildings in Ganja, the country’s second-largest city.
The Armenian defense ministry denied carrying out the strikes and accused Azerbaijan of continuing to shell populated areas in Nagorno-Karabakh, including its largest city, Stepanakert.
The Armenian foreign ministry said three civilians were injured in a fire resulting from Azerbaijan’s attacks.
Armenia also accused Azerbaijan of flying drones over Armenian settlements, attacking military installations and damaging civilian infrastructure.
The U.N. Children’s Fund, meanwhile, called Saturday for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, declaring in a statement that children have been killed, injured and displaced by the fighting, forcing them to endure weeks of “extreme psychological trauma and distress.”
“Children, families and the civilian facilities that they depend upon must be protected, in line with international human rights and humanitarian law. A complete cessation of hostilities is in the best interest of all children,” the statement said.
The fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted Sept. 27 and has killed hundreds of people, marking the biggest escalation of the decades-old conflict over breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh since a 1994 cease-fire.
The predominantly ethnic Armenian territory declared its independence from Azerbaijan in 1991 during the collapse of the Soviet Union, sparking a war that claimed the lives of as many as 30,000 people before a 1994 cease-fire. However, that independence is not internationally recognized.
23:56,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 17, ARMENPRESS. If Azerbaijan observes the humanitarian ceasefire, the Defense Army of Artsakh is ready to provide humanitarian corridor to besieged Azerbaijani troops, Vahram Poghosyan, spokesperson of Artsakh’s President, told ARMENPRESS.
”If starting from the agreed time Azerbaijan observes the humanitarian ceasefire, the Defense Army is ready to provide humanitarian corridor to besieged Azerbaijani troops”, Poghosyan said.
Armenia, Azerbaijan agreed on a humanitarian ceasefire starting from October 18 midnight.
In an interview with Al-Arabiya TV Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated that the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be through dialogue. However, he noted that negotiations need a foundation.
“We agree with the perspective that the problem with Armenia should be solved through dialogue, but there must be a basis for it. But to do this, the Armenian prime minister must announce his commitment to past agreements, according to which the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh have been recognized as occupied territories of Azerbaijan,” he said in the interview with Al Arabiya TV.
He also noted that to be able to stop the hostilities, the Armenian Prime Minister must apologize for “calling the occupied Azerbaijani occupied territories Armenian [land].”