Azerbaijan launched an “anti-terrorist operation” against the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave populated by ethnic Armenians on Tuesday. This was reported by the Azebaijani Ministry of Defense. The announcement comes three years after the start of the previous Karabakh war in 2020.
“As part [van de operatie] positions of the Armenian armed forces are being eliminated using high-precision weapons,” the Azerbaijani government said in a statement. Explosions can be heard in the capital Stepanakert, reports a journalist from the AFP news agency.
In its statement, Azerbaijan justified the attack by citing the deaths of four police officers and two civilians in a mine explosion on a highway. This is said to have occurred earlier on Tuesday. According to Baku, the mine was laid by the “subversive Armenian troops”.
According to Azerbaijan, the attack targets Armenian forces, military infrastructure and combat assets. At the end of 2020, Azerbaijan waged a short, fierce war against Nagorno-Karabakh. An estimated 7,000 soldiers and 170 civilians were killed.
Images of explosions and rockets are circulating on social media, but their authenticity cannot yet be determined.
This message is being supplemented