Updated: 10/10/2020

Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the United States of America Washington, D.C.

FACT SHEET

ARMENIA’S LATEST ATTACKS ON AZERBAIJAN

• On September 27, 2020 the armed forces of Armenia, by using large-caliber weapons, mortar launchers and artillery, launched attacks against positions of Azerbaijan causing human casualties and raising the tensions to a new dangerous 1
• On October 9, 2020, Azerbaijan, Russian and Armenian Foreign Ministers met in Moscow and issued a statement2containing the following four paragraphs: 1) Humanitarian ceasefire is announced for exchange of POWs and retrieval of dead bodies; 2) Specific parameters of ceasefire will be additionally agreed; 3) Substantive negotiations should begin soon within the OSCE Minsk Group and on the basis of the basic principles; 4) The format of negotiations remains changed;

• Unfortunately, this arrangement was violated by Armenia immediately after the truce had been due to

come into effect. The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan

reported that Armenian forces attacked

Azerbaijani positions in Aghdara-Tartar and Fizuli-Jabrail directions. Armenian forces also continue attacks on Azerbaijan’s civilian settlements. Azerbaijani districts of Goranboy, Terter, Agdam, Aghjabadi and Fizuli regions are under heavy fire.

• Over the last two weeks Armenia’s forces have shelled populated residential areas of Azerbaijan grossly violating its obligations under international humanitarian A targeted artillery fire in Naftalan region killed five members of the same family.3On October 4, 2020 Armenia ramped up the scale and intensity of its attacks by firing missiles at residential areas deep inside Azerbaijan. It fired at least four Smerch multiple-launch rocket systems at the second largest city of Azerbaijan – Ganja, subjected Mingachevir4, Terter and Horadiz5 regions to rocket fire. Mingachevir is the fourth-largest city of Azerbaijan and hosts the largest water reservoir in the region. Armenia also fired two 300-km- range missiles at Khizi/Absheron region which includes the capital Baku. On October 6, 2020, Armenia’s military used internationally prohibited cluster munitions to hit strategic Baku-Tbilisi- Ceyhan oil pipeline located nearly 50 kilometers away from the area of military operations.

1       https://mfa.gov.az/en/news/6876/view;     https://mod.gov.az/en/news/armenian-armed-forces-committed-large-scale-   provocations-along-the-entire-length-of-the-front-32311.html

2      https://mfa.gov.az/az/news/6941/view

3       https://mfa.gov.az/en/news/6882/view;     https://apa.az/en/nagorno_garabagh/Five-members-of-a-family-killed-as-a-result-of-   Armenian-shelling-colorredOFFICIALcolor-331354

4              https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2020-10-04/azerbaijan-says-armenia-launched-missile-attack-against-azeri-

city-of-mingachevir

5 https://mfa.gov.az/en/news/6920/view

• So far 31 Azerbaijani civilians, including children were killed while more than 168 were wounded or hospitalized (see the attached information on civilian casualties). Extensive damage has been inflicted on many homes and other civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, medical centers, school buildings, 6One of the civilians injured during the recent attack on Ganja is a 77 years old ethnic Armenian citizen of Azerbaijan. President Aliyev has stated repeatedly

that Azerbaijan doesn't target civilians and thousands of Armenians live in Azerbaijan safely as part of our society. Azerbaijan stated that it has no military objectives on the territory of Armenia and its all operations are taking place within the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan. Moreover, while the Azerbaijani army made it clear it will follow rules of war and does not intend to target civilians, the Armenian army places its firing points inside the residential areas using civilians as a human shield.

• Targeting civilians is not an incident but a deliberate policy of the Armenian armed forces trying to expand the policy of total ethnic cleansing they used in By attacking civilian targets Armenia doubles down on its earlier terror tactic of causing mass displacement of Azerbaijani population. Armenian military commanders openly state that they have given direct orders to attack civilian targets. Armenian leaders are desperately trying to provoke an Azerbaijani response against the territory of the Republic of Armenia hoping to invoke treaty obligations of Russia within the Collective Security Treaty Organization. This shows Armenia’s intent to expand the scope of this conflict by dragging in Russia directly into this confrontation as well as total disregard to safety of its own population. Along these lines, Prime Minister Pashinyan raised the possibility of inviting Russian peacekeepers in a recent interview.7

• The Nagorno-Karabakh region and surrounding districts are not a "disputed territory" but an internationally recognized part of the Republic of The term "disputed" does not apply in this case.

• The latest provocation by Armenia follows the 12-14 July attacks against Azerbaijan across the international border in the Tovuz region, where Azerbaijan lost military servicemen, including one general, and a 76-year-old 8Importantly, the area of the July attacks in Tovuz is in the vicinity of regional oil and gas pipelines, a vital part of Europe’s energy security.9 Similarly, the transportation infrastructure and the air corridor connecting Europe and Asia, including NATO transit to Afghanistan, pass through the same territory.

• Armenia’s leaders  have  been  actively

6              https://photo.azertag.az/post/-qurbanovlar-ailesi-ermeni-texribatinin-qurbani-oldu-aile-uzvlerinden-ikisi-mektebli-idi--dunya-   ermeni-fasizmini-gorsun-foto--22842;         https://photo.azertag.az/post/ermenistanin-dinc-ehaliye-xain-hucumlari-terterlileri-   qorxutmur--azertacin-terterden-fotoreportaji-22830;         https://photo.azertag.az/post/ermenistan-fasizminin-eybecer-sifeti-   dusmen-mulki-sexsleri-hedefe-almaqda-davam-edir-%E2%80%93-azertac-hadise-yerinden-xeber-verir--22836

7 https://tass.com/world/1208265

8          https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/azerbaijan-covid-pompeo/2020/08/05/id/980732/

9          https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2020/07/17/armenia-azerbaijan-conflict-energy-security/

undermining the ongoing peace process led by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by France, Russia and the U.S., and continue to ignore international calls for substantive peace talks.10 It is clear that Armenia is already set to pursue the realization of its Defense Minister’s pledge in early 2019 to wage “new wars for new territories” and to “prepare for new offensive operations.” 11

• The ongoing large-scale deliveries of weapons from Russia over the Iranian territory have intensified over the last several months and further contribute to the rising 12

• Armenia attempted to expand the scope of the conflict during the cross-border attacks in July by involving its treaty allies within the Collective Security Treaty Currently, the Armenian side conducts a coordinated disinformation campaign, including completely fabricated allegations about Syrian fighters traveling to Azerbaijan or an Armenian fighter jet being shot by the Turkish air force.13None of these falsehoods have been verified or proven. This propaganda campaign by Armenia aims to distract attention from atrocities against the civilian population of Azerbaijan as well as to provoke a third-party involvement in the current hostilities. There are no foreign fighters on the Azerbaijani side. On the contrary, Armenia has long been involved with Middle Eastern terrorism, sets up illegal settlements of Lebanese Armenians in the occupied Azerbaijani territories and sent a military contingent to participate in the Syrian civil war on behalf of the official Damascus.

• Armenia’s leaders promote the false narrative of Turkey’s involvement in the While Azerbaijan appreciates Turkey’s moral and diplomatic support as well as its clear demand to end Armenia’s illegal occupation in full accordance with the relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions and its membership in the Minsk Group, Turkey is not directly involved and is not a party to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.

• Azerbaijan has been consistent in urging substantive and result-oriented negotiations to achieve a breakthrough in the conflict for the benefit of the whole region.

For further information:

Phone: (202) 337-3500

E-mail: s_valiyeva@azembassy.us

10             https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/may/19/pandemic-highlights-the-protracted-azerbaijan-arme/

11      https://mediamax.am/en/news/armypolice/38503/

12          https://eurasianet.org/aliyev-airs-grievances-to-putin-over-arms-shipments-to-armenia

13           https://www.anews.com.tr/turkey/2020/09/29/azerbaijan-turkey-not-involved-in-armenia-conflict;   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haXztEdW2rg;         https://www.reuters.com/article/armenia-azerbaijan-turkey-denial-int-   idUSKBN26J16K

Civilian casualties and damage inflicted upon civilian infrastructure as a result of Armenia’s act of aggression against Azerbaijan

(as of 09 October 2020, 18:00 Baku time)

The armed forces of Armenia continue to deliberately target the civilian population, private houses and other civilian infrastructure in residential areas along the line of contact and in the regions outside of conflict zone in a gross violation of International Humanitarian Law, including the 1949 Geneva Conventions and its Protocols.

Armenia deliberately shells civilian facilities, such as hospitals, medical centers, school buildings and kindergartens in indiscriminate manner using artillery and other large-caliber weaponry.

On 09 October Barda, Aghdam, Mingachevir, Goranboy, Tartar, Fuzuli and Aghjabadi regions were being intensively shelled by the armed forces of Armenia. As a result of shells on Aghdam, three houses were destroyed and a private house of Mahammad Valiyev burned down.

On the same day at around 9:00am residents of Garabagh village, Fuzuli region - Nizami Ibrahimov (1958) and Alman Abbasov (1968), were hospitalized with various injuries as a result of shrapnel hitting their houses. Excessive damage was inflicted to their properties.

Samir Asadov (1982) from the ANAMA regional base was seriously wounded and hospitalized today as a result of attacks in Fuzuli. Not only civilians, but also members  of humanitarian demining Agency (ANAMA) ensuring the safety of civilians are being targeted.

A ballistic missile launched from the territory of Armenia in the direction of Mingachevir was detected by Azerbaijan's Air Defense Systems and destroyed at an altitude of more than 20 kilometers.

One of the missiles fired by Armenia in the afternoon hit grazing cattle in Hasangaya village of Barda region.

As of 09 October, totally 31 civilians, including children and elderly were killed, 168 civilians have been hospitalized with serious injuries. 1091 private houses, 45 apartment buildings and 143 civilian infrastructures were damaged and became unserviceable as a result of armed attack.

The Smerch 9M525 fragmentation missiles fired by the Armenian armed forces

School building in Terter district damaged by artillery shelling:

Market building in Aghdam region destroyed by artillery shelling:

Civilian properties destroyed by missile attack in Ganja:

Damaged civilian properties in the Alibayli village of Aghdam region:

Photos 4-6: Results of shelling on Hasangaya village (Barda)

on behalf of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Starting from September 27th 2020, the military-political leadership of the aggressor Armenia continues its provocative actions, flagrantly violating its obligations under the Geneva Conventions and international law in general.

Densely populated areas of Azerbaijan, where strategic facilities are located or passing, including the cities of Mingachevir (Hydro Power Station) and Yevlakh (Baku-Tbilisi-Jeyhan oil

pipeline), Ganja, Absheron and Khizi districts situated far away from the war zones, have been subjected to heavy artillery bombardment.

As a result of the Armenian military aggression, 31 civilians, including 3 children and 9 women were killed, 164 civilians were seriously injured, a total of 1054 houses, 45 apartment buildings and

142 civilian objects were destroyed so far. In order to prevent the Armenian aggression and ensure the security of the civilian population, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan are carrying out effective counter-offensive operations and adequate response measures in full compliance with international humanitarian law.

Due to the significant loss of manpower in the Armenian armed forces as a result of effective response measures of the Azerbaijani Army, the Armenian diaspora living abroad at the behest of the country's military and political leadership organizes the transportation of mercenaries to Nagorno-

Karabakh region to fight against the armed forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan. These

actions jeopardizing international security are inconsistent with international law, and are considered a crime under either Azerbaijani or national legislation of foreign countries.

I state that upon two facts criminal cases have already been initiated by the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code. Relevant investigative operational measures are ongoing. Mutual legal assistance requests were submitted to competent authorities of countries of their citizenship.

Furthermore, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan continues to

apply resolute criminal measures against individuals and legal entities engaged in illegal economic and other activities in the occupied territories of our country.

In the light of the foregoing, on behalf of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan I once again state and warn that within the framework of international law norms and criminal legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, resolute measures will be taken in relation to mercenaries who upon the calls of the military-political leadership of Armenia, its armed forces, diaspora organizations operating abroad, as well as of the so-called regime travel to Nagorno-Karabakh and take part in

the hostilities. Adequate measures will also be taken against individuals and legal entities engaged in illegal economic and other activities in the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

I vigorously call on the competent authorities of foreign countries to take effective, preventive and urgent measures to prevent such illegal actions.

Baku, 9 October 2020