After launching of waves starting yesterday local time in Armenia, Azerbaijani military forces have continued through the night to strike both military and civilian targets in Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh. Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh Republic Human Rights Ombudsman has provided these numbers about the current tolls. Twenty five soldiers of the NKR killed, two civilians killed, over 200 injured, and over 7,000 evacuated from external parts of Nagorno-Karabakh to inner regions. Evacuations continue by Russian peacekeepers stationed in Nagorno-Karabakh and NKR authorities.
Aznavur Saghyan, the mayor of Martuni region in Artsakh has also been confirmed killed.
Based on Azerbaijani obituaries found online, it appears at least thirty Azerbaijani military personnel have been killed. One civilian of Azerbaijan was also killed according to local reports.
Earlier in the evening Azerbaijani MOD reported that: “More than 60 combat posts (of the NKR) came under the control of Azerbaijan. Up to 20 military vehicles, more than 40 artillery installations, more than 30 mortars, 2 anti-aircraft missile systems, and more than 6 electronic warfare stations were destroyed.” These losses for the NKR have likely risen since.
The Azerbaijani MOD has continued to post footage of Bayraktar TB-2 drone attacks on their Telegram channel.
Armenpress: “Armenia is not involved in the military actions and does not maintain any military presence in Nagorno-Karabakh, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan has said amid the ongoing Azeri attack in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Prime Minister said that the situation along the borders of Armenia is relatively stable, with no visible or significant changes in the situation.
“But as I’ve said, I repeat that the main and key target, the goal of this operation is to drag the Republic of Armenia into military operations,” Pashinyan warned.
PM Pashinyan stated that a number of Azerbaijani news media are falsely reporting that Azeri forces are targeting the military units of the Republic of Armenia, referring to Nagorno-Karabakh’s defense army.
“Unfortunately, a number of our colleagues are repeating this information, who say that they call on Armenia and Azerbaijan to halt the military operations. I want to state for the record that the Republic of Armenia is not involved in the military operations and I want to once again record that the Republic of Armenia doesn’t have an army in Nagorno-Karabakh,” PM Pashinyan said.
He warned that a number of domestic and foreign forces are seeking to drag Armenia into hostilities. “This is visible and with our stance we are recording that the attempts to drag the Republic of Armenia into military escalation are unacceptable for us and we will manage this process, as much as we understand the emotional and other issues we all have in this situation. We shouldn’t allow some people, some forces, foreign or domestic, to question the statehood of Armenia,” Pashinyan said.”
Aftee these statements were made by Pashinyan protests began to swell by Armenians disagreeing with the decision not to intervene, as well protests grew at the Russian embassy for inaction on their part as regional peacekeepers. Armenian authorities responded with tear gas, crowd dispersal tools, and by using police corrals.
