FACTSHEET Armenia attacks Azerbaijani positions (Oct7, 2020)

Updated: 10/07/2020

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 level.^[1]

Armenia’s forces continue to shell populated residential areas of Azerbaijan grossly violating its obligations under international humanitarian law. A targeted artillery fire in Naftalan region killed five members of the same family.^[2] On 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 Mingachevir^[3], Terter and Horadiz^[4] 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.

So far 28 Azerbaijani civilians, including children were killed while more than 144 were wounded and 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, kindergartens.^[5] One 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 1990s. 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.[6]

The Nagorno-Karabakh region and surrounding districts are not a "disputed territory" but an internationally recognized part of the Republic of Azerbaijan. 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 civilian.^[7] Importantly, 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.^[8] 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 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.^[9] 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.”^[10]

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 tensions.^[11]

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 Organization. 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.^[12] None 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 conflict. 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

UPDATED FACT SHEET

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

(As of 07 October 2020, 18:00 Baku time)[13]

The armed forces of Armenia have continued to target the civilian population, private houses and other civilian infrastructure in residential areas along the line of contact in a gross violation of its obligations under international humanitarian law, including the 1949 Geneva Conventions.

Civilian facilities, such as hospitals, medical centers, school buildings, kindergartens as well as graveyards have been subjected to indiscriminate shelling of armed forces of Armenia, including from artillery and other large-caliber weaponry.

As of 07 October, totally 28 civilians[14], including children and elderly have been killed, 144 civilians have been hospitalized with various injuries as a consequence of heavy artillery shelling. More than 427 houses and 66 civilian facilities have been destroyed as a result of armed attack. Vehicles belonging to civilians became unserviceable, and numerous small and large horned animals and haystacks were destroyed as well.

The Armenian armed forces, using missiles and large-caliber artillery systems, have been deliberately targeting Yevlakh, Goranboy, Beylagan Tartar, Barda, Aghdam, Aghjabadi, Fuzuli and Jabrayil districts of Azerbaijan. As a result of bombarding Tartar region, Mammadov Hasan Asif, born in 1981, a resident of Gaynag village, was killed. Aliyev Dayanat Ganimat, born in 1989, a resident of the same village, and Hasanov Seyfulla Yagub, born in 1968, a resident of Kocharli village, were hospitalized with various injuries.

On October 6, 2020, at about 6:30 pm, the armed forces of Armenia, using massively destructive methods of warfare and weapons prohibited by the international law, launched missiles at Aran settlement of Yevlakh region by targeting non-military, clearly visible crude oil and condensate export pipelines, located at least 50 kilometers away from the area of military operations.

The 9M525 Smerch rocket, which has a large destructive power and contains 300 9N235 bombs (cluster munition), was neutralized in the air by Azerbaijan Armed Forces. As a result, some of bombs inside the rocket hit the 42-inch-diameter South Caucasus Expanded Pipeline in Aran settlement, Yevlakh region. Some of bombs also scattered 120 meters around from the Western Export Pipeline, which transports crude oil to the Black Sea coast, and other parts were scattered 100 meters from the Baku-Tbilisi-Jeyhan Oil Pipeline passing through the settlement.

Thus, by planning and waging an aggressive war against the Republic of Azerbaijan, a terrorist crime was committed by the Armenia’s armed forces, which attempted deliberately destroy a large number of critical infrastructure, facilities and other property, creating dangerous conditions for oil-exporting and high-capacity crude oil and condensate export pipelines, which could inflict significant damage to human, environment and property.

Civilian properties destroyed by missile attack in Fuzuli: