15:04,
STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 24, ARMENPRESS. The Artsakh Defense Army reported an additional 36 KIAs, bringing the total death toll in the Artsakh military amid the Azeri attacks to 963.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Category: 2020
‘Armenians are being slaughtered by Trump pal Erdogan’ – US actor Sean Penn
14:58,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 24, ARMENPRESS. American actor, filmmaker and producer Sean Penn commented on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s policy on Armenians.
“As too many of us sit on our butts, Armenians are being slaughtered by Trump pal Erdogan with weapons WE provided. THIS is NOT America! Biden for America’s new birth!” Sean Penn said on Twitter.
On September 27 Azerbaijan, with the support of Turkey, launched a massive attack against the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), by using all its ammunition, targeting also the civilian infrastructures both in Artsakh and Armenia. There are confirmed reports that there are mercenaries in the Azerbaijani army brought from Syria by Turkey for fighting against the Armenian side.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
THE MEDIA WAR BY AZERBAIJAN AND TURKEY AGAINST ARMENIA AND NAGORNO-KARABAKH
Columbia University –
Oct 21 2020
Wednesday, October 21, 2020
by Lisa Gulesserian (Harvard University) and David L. Phillips (Columbia University)
Azerbaijan and Turkey attacked Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh on September 27. They also launched a media war to blame Armenians for the escalation of deadly conflict. Their disinformation and disingenuous diplomacy must be addressed so that the truth can be known and peace can prevail.
A slaughter is underway of ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, a region in southwestern Azerbaijan populated almost entirely by Armenians. Armenians living in this enclave, just six times the size of New York City, have been relentlessly targeted for the last three weeks with artillery and cluster bombs. A humanitarian ceasefire agreed to by both sides over the weekend unraveled within minutes when Azerbaijan renewed hostilities.
While committing atrocities against civilians, Turkey and Azerbaijan are simultaneously engaged in a war of words to whitewash their responsibility. These countries have repeatedly denied facts verified by credible sources. As early as September 30, the Guardian and CNN published reports about Syrian mercenaries fighting for Turkey in Nagorno-Karabakh. In a press release on October 2, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister denied the presence of Syrian mercenaries and shifted blame, accusing Armenia of using terror proxies: “There are numerous facts of the use of terrorist groups and mercenaries in military operations by Armenia,” he said. The next day, October 3, Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, denied to Al Jazeera that Syrian mercenaries were being deployed in the region. He disparaged Emmanuel Macron’s claim that France had evidence of Syrian mercenaries deployed by Turkey.
Despite official denials by Azerbaijan, many news outlets have confirmed that Syrian mercenaries are on the battlefield fighting for Azerbaijan and Turkey. Sources as diverse as the Wall Street Journal (“Turkish-Backed Syrian Fighters Join Armenian-Azeri Conflict”), Foreign Policy (“Syrians Make Up Turkey’s Proxy Army in Nagorno-Karabakh”), and National Interest (“Nagorno-Karabakh: Why Turkey Is Sending Syrian Mercenaries To War In Azerbaijan”) confirm that Syrian mercenaries have been contracted to kill Armenians, who are Christian, in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Denial is routine for Turkey. Turkish officials still deny that a genocide against Armenians and other Christian populations in the Ottoman Empire occurred between 1915-1923. The genocide—now recognized by over 32 countries, including the United States Congress—has not been recognized by Turkey. Officials there call the killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians “regular wartime occurrences,” indicating that massive losses were incurred on both “sides.”
In Nagorno-Karabakh, Turkey and its ally Azerbaijan use a well-worn tactic of denying facts so that they can continue their crimes while the international community struggles to understand what is really going on. While increasing their combat operations, Turkey and Azerbaijan have also intensified their official whitewashing of events through disinformation.
Disinformation is an industry. According to the United States Department of Justice, the Republic of Azerbaijan has signed 45 contracts with US-based public relations firms. Fees to each firm range between $15,000 and $50,000 a month. Without taking into account new contracts this year, for which data is unavailable, Azerbaijan paid over $1.25 million to public relations consultants over the past five years to bolster Azerbaijan’s image in the media and to lobby members of the US Congress.
In July 2020, BGR Group, working on behalf of Azerbaijan, sent US elected officials an op-ed by Azerbaijan’s Ambassador Elin Suleymanov, which fabricated details about a violent altercation between Azerbaijani and Armenian demonstrators in Los Angeles. His article was published immediately after an Armenian school in San Francisco was vandalized with anti-Armenian, pro-Azerbaijani graffiti.
Not only does Azerbaijan spend a fortune on US-based public relations firms, it also pays residents of Azerbaijan to engage in an online disinformation campaign. On October 8, Facebook deleted 589 Facebook accounts, 7,906 Pages, and 447 accounts on Instagram that were engaged in “inauthentic behavior” (in other words: spreading lies). According to an internal memo written by Facebook’s Sophie Zhang, the company waited a year to open investigations on the ruling political party of Azerbaijan that “utilized thousands of inauthentic assets…to harass the opposition” and defend the country’s governing New Azerbaijani Party by working with the Party’s Youth Union.
According to Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of security: “This network appeared to engage individuals in Azerbaijan to manage pages with the sole purpose of leaving supportive and critical commentary on pages of international and local media, public figures including opposition, and the ruling party of Azerbaijan, to create a perception of widespread criticism of some views and widespread support of others.” Pro-Azerbaijani comments on social media were tagged with #stopArmenianterrorism, #StopArmenianAggression, #ArmeniaKillsCivilians, #DontBelieveArmenia, #ArmeniaKillsChildren, #PrayforGanja, #StopArmenianLies, or #TerroristArmenia. Research reveals a state-funded cyber army supporting Azerbaijan’s false claims.
Online propagandists also harass defenders of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. The American rapper Cardi B and Elton John were attacked for supporting the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. Cardi B admitted that “a lot of people from Azerbaijan” wrote to her and used the hashtag #CardiBSupportsTerrorism on social media.
US academics and journalists are also bullied. The Federation of Turkish American Associations has been sending prominent intellectuals and journalists threatening letters. They accuse them of being “literal murderer[s]” and threaten to expose them as Islamophobes and “racial supremacist[s].”
Azerbaijan and Turkey scorn journalistic freedom. On October 3, Azerbaijan issued a press release about foreign journalists in Nagorno-Karabakh: “We again call on journalists to avoid visiting the temporarily occupied territories of Azerbaijan, thus not giving an opportunity to Armenia to exploit them.” This statement about removing journalists from the war zone under the pretext of protection is convenient for Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan has a well documented disdain for the truth. It is ranked 168th out of 180 countries by Reporters sans frontières (Reporters without Borders) in their annual World Press Freedom Index.
In an effort to be even-handed, international media presents the views of both “sides” when covering Nagorno-Karabakh. Giving both sides equal voice makes the media an accomplice to ethnic cleansing perpetrated by Turkey and Azerbaijan. Disinformation also hinders diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed.
Lisa Gulesserian is Preceptor on Armenian Language & Culture at Harvard University and David L. Phillips is Director of the Program on Peacebuilding and Human Rights at Columbia University.
Armenpress: Armenian demonstration blocks Spain-France highway
Armenian demonstration blocks Spain-France highway
15:35,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 24, ARMENPRESS. The highway linking Spain with France is blocked amid a major Armenian demonstration where protesters are voicing about the Turkish-backed Azerbaijani aggression on Artsakh.
The demonstrators demand Spain not to remain silent and to officially recognize Artsakh as an independent country.
Protesters are chanting “Erdogan is a terrorist”, “Wake up Spain”, “Stop the War”.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
WATCH: Artsakh Defense Army hits Azeri TOS-1A heavy multiple rocket launcher
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15:21,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 24, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Defense Ministry has released a video showing the Artsakh Defense Army striking an Azerbaijani TOS-1A heavy multiple rocket launcher.
[see video]
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Asbarez: An Extension of the Fighting Spirit
October 24, 2020
The author, Alec Minassian, with his classmates at a fund-raising event at Ferrahian
BY ALEC MINASSIAN
Following years of unprecedented turmoil and dispute along the Artsakh border with Azerbaijan, the aggression by the Azerbaijani regime has prompted overwhelming activism and decisive work in paving a path toward a more peaceful, stable condition in the region. In the face of civilian bombings, Syrian mercenaries, and authoritarian propaganda, the Armenian people and their undying spirit have proven more resilient and steadfast than any opposing force.
In the diaspora, I am met with faces of concern and prayer, but more optimistically, I’ve been enlightened and inspired by the courage and determination my classmates, teachers, friends, and family have shown. My classmates and I have taken on the initiative of putting together necessary action to overcome the current hardships we face in the homeland. Within the last few days, students, teachers, faculty, and parents have come together in unprecedented fashion to host medical supply drop-offs, social media awareness calls, Congressional text banks and petitioning, and even a car wash fundraiser that generated thousands of dollars for our soldiers fighting for their ancestral homeland.
Our community united immediately to give generously and work peacefully. Over the last three weeks, we’ve proven our strength, humility and capacity to outlive the cruel and inhumane aggression of the Azeri regime. Internationally, the Armenian community has and will continue to persevere beyond financial, social, or political downturn, because ultimately, the Armenian spirit is one of inherent determination, passion, and optimism. The work I’ve been proud to share is testament to that reality, and from it comes a certainty and an open-mindedness that is unique to the Armenian people. A certainty that ancestry, culture, diversity, and history will always overcome hatred, greed, and evil.
As a Diaspora made up of inspired, passionate Armenians, this work defines us, and the contributions we make to the homeland are both necessary and incredibly valued. Petitioning Congress, raising funds, employing social media, and inspiring the international community will prove the difference in this horrific exposal of indecency, and ultimately, there is an abundant faith and sincerity that permeates throughout the Armenian diaspora and Armenian homeland, and that sincerity and optimism is certainly an extension of the fighting spirit we are never to abandon.
We remain committed to our efforts, individually and collectively. Continue your activism through the Armenian National Committee of America. Be inspired by our schools and churches and the thousands of volunteers dedicated to the Armenian Relief Society, ArmeniaFund and other humanitarian aid organizations. Remain active. Remain committed. Remain spirited.
Alec Minassian is a senior at Holy Martyrs Ferrahian Armenian School.
Dutch MP Sadet Karabulut calls on PM Mark Rutte to stop Azerbaijan and Turkey
15:42,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 24, ARMENPRESS. Member of Parliament of the Netherlands Sadet Karabulut has called on the Dutch government to take action to stop Turkey and Azerbaijan in the attacks on Artsakh. She tweeted the Human Rights Watch report on the Azeri use of prohibited cluster munitions against Artsakh and said that the Azeri actions are “unacceptable”.
“Scandalous. Unacceptable. The Cabinet must speak out strongly and do something to stop Azerbaijan and Turkey. Every minute counts. Break the silence,” she said in a tweet addressed to PM Mark Rutte.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
RFE/RL Armenian Report – 10/24/2020
Saturday, U.S. Still Sees No ‘Military Solution’ To Karabakh Conflict U.S. - U.S. National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien (L) meets with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, Washington, . U.S. National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien insisted that there can be no “military solution” to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict after meeting with Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s foreign ministers in Washington late on Friday. “In my meeting with Azerbaijani FM [Jeyhun Bayramov] I pressed for an immediate ceasefire, then a return to Minsk Group-facilitated negotiations with Armenia and rejection of outside actors further destabilizing the situation. There is no military solution,” the U.S. National Security Council quoted O’Brien as saying on its Twitter page. O’Brien made a somewhat different comment on his separate talks with Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanian. He said they met to “discuss the need for an immediate ceasefire” and the resumption of Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks mediated by the three Minsk Group co-chairs: the U.S., Russia and France. “The U.S. will continue our strongest diplomatic efforts at all levels until the conflict is resolved,” added President Donald Trump’s key adviser. U.S. - Armenia's Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan meets with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to discuss the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, at the State Department in Washington, U.S., The Trump administration invited Bayramov and Mnatsakanian to Washington as part of its efforts to stop the nearly month-long war in and around Karabakh. The two ministers also separately met with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo earlier on Friday. Pompeo said he discussed with them “critical steps to halt violence in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.” He did not report any fresh Armenian-Azerbaijani agreements that effect. Trump spoke afterwards of “really good progress” made in U.S. mediation efforts. But he did not elaborate. “We don’t yet know what progress they are talking about,” a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin told the RIA Novosti news agency on Friday night. Putin expressed hope on Thursday that Washington will contribute to Russian efforts to get the conflicting parties to respect a ceasefire agreement that was brokered by Moscow on October 10. A similar “humanitarian” truce agreement brokered by France on October 17 has also not been observed. Both warring sides reported on Friday fresh fighting and shelling of civilian areas in the conflict zone. NAGORNO-KARABAKH -- Pople mourn during the funeral of a soldier who died in recent military clashes Karabakh, Stepanakert, At his meeting with O’Brien, Mnatsakanian again held Turkey responsible for the continuing bloodshed. According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, he claimed that Ankara is keen to destabilize the region by recruiting Middle Eastern “terrorist fighters” for the Azerbaijani army and providing other military assistance to Baku. The Turkish and Azerbaijani governments deny Turkey’s direct involvement in the ongoing war. Pompeo criticized Ankara’s role in the Karabakh escalation last week. “We now have the Turks, who have stepped in and provided resources to Azerbaijan, increasing the risk, increasing the firepower that’s taking place in this historic fight,” he said. Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2020 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
What Open Source Evidence Tells Us About The Nagorno-Karabakh War
Forbes
Oct 23 2020
Since Azerbaijan launched its assault on Armenian forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh region on September 27, there has been a torrent of violent imagery from both sides on social media.
Video after video depict drone strikes setting military vehicles ablaze and unsuspecting troop formations abruptly vanishing in spasms of artillery fire. Photos reveal urban apartment buildings torn apart by massive rockets, and corpses piled up like cordwood after deadly ambushes in narrow valleys. Reporters venturing to Armenian and Azerbaijani communities mid-bombardment have shared images of devastation and tales of suffering.
It’s possible to draw upon this huge but disturbing body of evidence to gain insight into what is happening on the ground—even while remaining mindful that what gets recorded on camera and shared on the internet is by no means the whole picture.
Here’s what open sources and journalistic accounts can and can’t tell us about territorial changes in the conflict, vehicle losses, the number of dead, drone losses, attacks on civilians, war crimes, and the role played by Turkey in the war.
Azerbaijani Ground Force Have Captured Significant Territory
The war is over Nagorno-Karabakh, a region which has an Armenian majority population, but which de jure is generally recognized as Azerbaijani territory.
Since a war in the 1990s, a de facto Armenian government called Artsakh or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) has controlled the region, and several Azerbaijani districts outside of it, with support from Armenia.
A mutual history of atrocities and ethnic cleansing predating the fall of the Soviet Union has resulted in decades of border skirmishes and deepening enmity and mistrust between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, with little progress towards a peaceful resolution.
As of October 22, Azerbaijani forces have seized a number of towns and strategic heights from Armenian troops across the breadth of the frontline in Nagorno-Karabakh, including the (until recently) populated towns of Hadrut, Mataghis and Zangilan, as well as many depopulated ghost towns such as Füzuli, Jabrayil and Talish.
While Armenian and Azerbaijan have offered conflicting accounts, some of the territory changes can be verified by geo-locating photos of Azerbaijani troops in these areas.
Using geo-location of photos, one analysis on October 22 estimates Azerbaijan has occupied nearly 10% of the territory in Nagorno-Karabakh formerly held by Armenian forces, up from an estimated 2.8% according to different analysts in an article published October 14.
In a speech on Oct. 20, Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev suggested expansive objectives for expelling Armenian forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Despite earlier signaling openness to negotiations, Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan subsequently stated Armenians would have “victory or defeat, nothing in between.”
Azerbaijan’s military will hope its territorial gains will rupture the cohesion of the Armenian defensive lines, allowing them to advance with greater momentum at lower cost.
By contrast, Armenian forces will pin their hopes on executing a defense in depth, in which Azerbaijani forces that break through in one sector are denied momentum by being immediately confronted by a new line of formidable defenses.
The naturally-occurring fortifications created by Nagorno-Karabakh mountainous terrain assist such defensive strategy. Commanding heights overlook ground largely devoid of cover and narrow road chokepoints create abundant opportunities for lethal ambushes.
Armenian troops also appear in recent videos to have fallen back to wooded terrain providing cover from aerial observation and attack.
But mountainous terrain holds perils for the defender too, constraining lines of resupply, retreat and counterattack. Notably, if Azerbaijan succeeds in physically occupying the Lachin highway connecting Stepanakert to Armenia, than the de facto Nagorno-Karabakh Republic could become untenable and even civilian refugees may find themselves without a route through which to flee the fighting.
According to some reports, Azerbaijani forces have advanced within 6 miles (10 kilometers) of the Lachin highway.
This coincides with a second issue: behind the frontline fighting, Armenian support units and lines of communication have come under an aerial assault of unprecedented scale in the long-running conflict.
Hundreds of videos released by Azerbaijan show drones blasting Armenian fighting vehicles and heavy weapons, as well as destroying resupply and reinforcement convoys. Azerbaijan’s government is posting the strike footage on digital billboards for public viewing.
Azerbaijan’s primary aerial combat system in the conflict are an unknown number of Turkish-built Bayraktar TB2 drones, which can deliver precision strikes from a relatively safe altitude using small laser-guided micro-missiles, or help guide deadly artillery barrages.
However, Azerbaijan is also using its fleet of Israeli Harop and smaller Orbiter-1K loitering munitions, which can both surveil targets and kamikaze into choice targets like a missile.
Azerbaijan is also operating domestic drones, including antiquated An-2 Colt “biplane” transports fitted with remote-control systems. Ostensibly used to draw fire from Armenian air defenses, at least some of these Colts appear to have been carrying FAB 250-kilogram bombs. Armenian videos document the destruction of 7 of the pokey drone biplanes, often using man-portable surface-to-air missiles.
Azerbaijan’s attack helicopters, by contrast, have only seen limited use. Armenian aviation has not been active, save for an Su-25K attack jet sortie which ended with the loss of the plane under disputed circumstances.
We can quantify some of the scale of the material losses suffered by Armenian forces due to work by open-source intelligence bloggers Stijn Mitzer and Jakub Janovsky, who document and classify vehicle losses confirmed by visual media from both sides, taking care to avoid counting the same damaged or destroyed vehicle more than once.
Of course, their tally cannot account for all the losses which haven’t been recorded and shared on the internet, or that otherwise escaped their notice. However, they do offer a minimum count of the damaged, destroyed or captured vehicles that can be visually verified.
On the first day of hostilities Azerbaijani drone strikes focused heavily on short range air defense vehicles in Nagorno-Karabakh. These 1970 and 1980-era Soviet systems designed for use against airplanes may have lacked resolution to consistently detect and engage drones at long range and higher altitude. Later, more powerful S-300 and 2K12 air missile batteries and long-range air defense radars were also struck.
Air defense vehicles damaged or destroyed include:
- 14 9K33 Osa (SA-8) and 9K35 Strela-10 (SA-13) mobile short-range air defense systems
- 4 S-300PS (SA-10) and one 2K12 (SA-6) medium or long-range surface-to-air missile launch vehicles
- 8 air defense radars
Two loitering munition strikes early in the conflict struck dummy air defense vehicles. However, the successful use of such decoys has not been documented since.
After the first few days, drone strikes were primarily directed at vehicles, facilities and artillery behind or approaching the frontline.
The following is a non-comprehensive list of Armenian vehicles that have been shown to be damaged, destroyed or captured. In aggregate, they amount to the loss of around five armored or mechanized battalions.
- 144 T-72A and T-72B main battle tanks
- 35 BMP-1 and -2 infantry fighting vehicles
- 19 MT-LB tracked APCs, some with heavy weapons
- 310 trucks, jeeps and miscellaneous soft-skinned vehicles
Armenian artillery losses appear equally staggering as of Oct. 22, equivalent to the destruction of six or seven artillery battalions in aggregate:
- 49 122- and 152-millimeter towed howitzers and field guns
- 12 2S1 and 2S3 armored self-propelled howitzers
- 52 BM-21 Grad 122-millimeter multiple rocket launchers
- 3 BM-30 and WM-80 heavy multiple rocket launchers
Starting around mid-October, drone footage showed a new emphasis on hitting infantry positions, presumably near the frontline.
Meanwhile, since the beginning of hostilities, the destruction or capture of the following Azerbaijani armored vehicles were recorded, mostly using anti-tank guided missiles, artillery and rocket propelled grenades:
- 20 T-72A and AV main battle tanks
- 2 T-90S main battle tanks
- 17 BMP-1, -2 and -3 tracked infantry fighting vehicles
- 5 BTRA-82A wheeled personnel carriers
There are several important caveats to bear in mind when considering these numbers.
First, because Armenian forces aren’t operating combat drones, they inevitably are recording less imagery of vehicles getting destroyed.
As detailed in this earlier article, both Armenia and Azerbaijan are unleashing long-range artillery on each other’s civilian population centers. Armenia has reported 37 civilian dead so far, while Azerbaijani media reports 61 dead.
Azerbaijan has continuously bombarded the Nagorno-Karabakh regional capital of Stepanakert and the nearby cultural center of Shusha/Shushi.
Armenia has retaliated with artillery strikes on many Azerbaijani communities. Some, like Ganja—Azerbaijan’s second city—are located well outside the conflict zone.
Both sides have claimed the attacks are precision strikes on military targets within the city. However, most of the rockets and missiles used are designed to devastate large areas, such as huge BM-30 Smerch rockets used by both sides. Photos show these weapons have demolished civilian neighborhoods.
Armenian forces also reportedly used Tochka (SS-21 Scarab) and Scud ballistic missiles in four separate attacks on Ganja between Oct. 5through Oct. 17, killing 25 civilians.
Cluster munitions, which are banned in many countries, but not by the combatants in question, were identified showering down on Stepanakert. The munitions are reportedly of Israeli manufacture.
Azerbaijan has also shared images of BM-30 Smerch cluster bomblets allegedly fired by Armenia.
The deliberate attacks on civilians, which are war crimes, are likely intended to demoralize their respective civilian populations, and decrease support for a continued war effort. The ultimate effect can only be to deepen the enmity between the two nations.
War Crime On Video
A video shared on Azerbaijani social media appear to show an incident in which two Armenian soldiers surrender to Azerbaijani troops at Hadrut. A subsequent video (not shared here) appears to show the killing of the same two POWs.
The Azerbaijani government later took down the videos and claimed they were fake. However, a detailed investigation by Bellingcat concluded they appeared to be authentic.
Other crimes have been alleged by both sides but have not been verified as far as the author knows.
Just how involved is Turkey?
Ankara openly supports Azerbaijan’s campaign in Nagorno-Karabakh. However, journalists and open source intelligence has illuminated aspects of the relationship that were unconfirmed or contested.
Most importantly, Turkey quietly transferred TB2 drones to Azerbaijan prior to the commencement of hostilities. Their activity over Nagorno-Karabakh was discerned through open-source analysis a week before Azerbaijani officials admitted their presence.
Multiple and distinct press outlets have also seemingly confirmed rumors denied by Ankara that Turkey had transported mercenaries recruited from Syrian rebel groups to support Azerbaijan’s campaign.
Armenian sources have also claimed Turkish F-16 fighters have attacked Armenian targets. A New York Times NYT investigation released satellite photos confirming the presence of two Turkish F-16s in Ganja International Airport in Azerbaijan.
However, this does not necessarily prove the F-16s have been used in a combat role—they may have been detached to escort Turkish cargo planes transporting arms to Azerbaijan instead.
Final Thoughts
Earlier in October, several observers remarked that the huge destruction apparently inflicted by Azerbaijan’s drones interdicting vehicles behind the frontline had not resulted in major territorial gains, the objective of Azerbaijan’s offensive.
Air forces tend to prefer interdiction missions rather than close air support at the frontline because vehicle convoys and conspicuous rear-are bases and bivouacs are more vulnerable than well-camouflaged and entrenched frontline units.
But interdiction strikes have a delayed payoff: they reduce an enemy’s ability to resupply and reinforce frontline units and concentrate fresh forces to mount counteroffensives.
It’s too early to tell whether Azerbaijani ground forces will sustain the advance or get bogged down by Armenian defenses, difficult terrain and forthcoming winter weather. However, if Azerbaijani troops manage to cut off the logistical link connecting Stepanakert to Armenia, the position of Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh may become highly precarious.
Iran deploys troops along border with Armenia, Azerbaijan
Brussels Times, Belgium
Oct 25 2020
Sunday,
Iran has deployed troops along its border with Armenia and Azerbaijan after shots were fired on its territory from Nagorno-Karabakh, the ideological arm of the Iranian Republic announced on Sunday.
Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway enclave within Azerbaijan peopled mostly by Armenians and, including territory occupied by Armenia, is bordering on Iran, has been the scene of violent clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces since late September.
After the break-up of Soviet Union, full-scale war broke out in 1992 – 1994 between the two countries, which lead to more than 20,000 casualties and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, mostly Azerbaijanis.
Revolutionary Guard units have been sent to and stationed in the region due to the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the commander of the ground forces of the ideological army of Iran, Mohamed Pakpur, indicated. The troops’ mission is to protect national interests and maintain peace and security, the Iranian news agency, IRNA, quoted Pakpur as saying.
He said Iran respected the territorial integrity of its neighbours, but “any change” in the borders was “a red line for the Islamic Republic.”
In recent weeks, rockets and mortar shells have been falling on villages in the Iranian county of Khoda Afarin, across the border from Nagorno-Karabakh, according to Iranian media.
An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson warned in a mid-October tweet that if the shelling continued, Iran would not remain indifferent.
Iran, which has good ties with both Armenia and Azerbaijan, has repeatedly called on the belligerents to cease hostilities and offered to mediate between them.
The Brussels Times