Armenia on Sunday declared martial law and a military mobilisation as Baku and Yerevan reported civilian casualties in heavy fighting along the Karabakh frontline.
“The government has decided to declare martial law and a total mobilisation,” Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote on Facebook.
Tensions rose in the southern Caucasus between neighboring Armenia and Azerbaijan on Sunday morning over clashes in which Yerevan said Azerbaijani forces shelled the region of Nagorno-Karabakh and Baku accused Armenian forces of shelling Azerbaijani military and civilian positions.
Authorities in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh said the region’s capital Stepanakert (Khankendi) has been shelled and urged residents to get to safety. Numerous houses in villages have been destroyed, with injuries reported.
Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said Armenian forces hit three Azerbaijani tanks. The number of casualties is yet to be confirmed.
Nagorno-Karabakh is an ethnic Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan that has been out of Azerbaijan’s control since the end of a war in 1994. Both sides have heavy military presence along a demilitarized zone separating the region from the rest of Azerbaijan.
Nagorno-Karabakh – key facts
A mountainous region of about 4,400 sq km (1,700 sq miles)
Traditionally inhabited by Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks
In Soviet times, it became an autonomous region within the republic of Azerbaijan
Internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but majority of population is ethnic Armenian
An estimated one million people displaced by 1990s war, and about 30,000 killed
Separatist forces captured some extra territory around the enclave in Azerbaijan in the 1990s war
Stalemate has largely prevailed since a 1994 ceasefire
Russia has traditionally supported the Armenians.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is declaring martial law and mobilization, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.
“Dear countrymen,
At the decision of the government, martial law and general mobilization is being declared in the Republic of Armenia. The decision is effective after publication. I call on the personnel attached to the troops to present themselves to their district commissariats.
For the fatherland, for victory,” Pashinyan said.
In the early morning of September 27, the Azerbaijani military launched a massive attack on Artsakh using air force, missiles and tanks. The Azerbaijani artillery strikes targeted civilian settlements, including Stepanakert city, which resulted in several civilians being killed. Schools were also bombed.
The two countries have long been at odds over Azerbaijan’s breakaway, mainly ethnic Armenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh which declared independence during a conflict that broke out as the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
