According to Azerbaijan, the decades-long dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh is now going to be settled once and for all.
Azerbaijan has launched a powerful offensive in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the Caucasus Mountains.
The capital of the region, Stepanakert, as well as many other cities, are under heavy fire, eyewitnesses say.
Armenia, which claims Nagorno-Karabakh as its own territory, says Azerbaijan has launched a “large-scale military offensive”.
The Nagorno-Karabakh dispute dates back to the 1980s, when Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a war lasting several years. Nagorno-Karabakh is in the territory of Azerbaijan, but its population is largely Armenian.
In 2020, the countries were fighting over the control of Nagorno-Karabakh, but the dispute has become stuck in a “frozen conflict”. There have been Russian peacekeepers in the area.
Azerbaijan accuses Armenia of oppressing the Azeri population and continuous military strikes against Azeri forces. According to Azerbaijan, this is an anti-terrorist operation aimed at removing Armenian troops from the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Sources: Reuters, AFP