A ceasefire was announced Wednesday in Nagorno-Karabakh where Armenian separatists agreed to lay down their arms and negotiations on the reintegration of this territory into Azerbaijan, the day after the launch of a major military offensive .
This announcement is a major victory for Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev in his desire to take control of this region disputed for decades between Baku and Armenia and the scene of two wars, one from 1988 to 1994, the other in fall 2020.
This time, a 24-hour Azerbaijani military assault was enough to bring the separatists cornered by Baku’s firepower and Armenia’s decision not to come to their aid. The human toll currently stands at 32 deaths.
“An agreement was reached on the withdrawal of the remaining units and servicemen of the Armed Forces of Armenia […] and on the dissolution and complete disarmament of the armed formations of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army,” the separatist presidency said in a statement.
She also announced initial talks concerning “the reintegration” into Azerbaijan of this territory where tensions had been intensifying recently. They are due to take place on Thursday in the Azerbaijani town of Yevlakh, located 295 km west of Baku.
In an address to the nation on Wednesday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said his country “did not participate” in drafting the ceasefire agreement.
“We have taken note of the decision of the Karabakh authorities to cease hostilities and lay down their arms,” he said on television, adding that Armenia no longer had military units in the region. since August 2021.
It is “very important” that the fighting stops in this enclave, he added.
The opposition accuses Mr. Pashinian, who the day before denounced calls for a “coup d’état” in his country, of having been responsible for the military defeat in 2020. Clashes broke out between demonstrators on Tuesday in Yerevan. calling him a “traitor” and demanding his resignation in front of the government headquarters.
According to the separatists, this ceasefire was decided after mediation by Russian peacekeeping forces deployed in the territory since the last conflict three years ago.
In the wake of the separatists, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry confirmed the disarmament of Karabakh forces as part of a truce which was to come into effect at 1 p.m. local time, as well as the opening of these negotiations.
The previous conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway region of Azerbaijan mainly populated by Armenians and disputed with Yerevan for decades, lasted six weeks in the fall of 2020 and ended in an Armenian military rout and the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in the region.
At least 32 dead
In his first statements since the launch of the Baku offensive, Ilham Aliev affirmed earlier on Wednesday that his assault would stop “if (the Armenian separatists) lay down their arms”.
The Azerbaijani authorities announced on Tuesday the launch of an “anti-terrorist” operation in Nagorno-Karabakh after the death of six people in the explosion of mines planted, according to them, by Armenian “saboteurs”.
According to the human rights defender in Armenia, the fighting left at least 32 dead, including two children, and more than 200 injured.
The Armenian separatist authorities for their part announced the evacuation on Tuesday of more than 7,000 civilians from 16 localities while the Russian peace contingent present in Nagorno-Karabakh for its part evacuated more than 2,000 civilians from the most dangerous areas, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The separatists claimed that several towns in Nagorno-Karabakh, including its capital Stepanakert, had been targeted by “intensive fire” by Baku’s military forces, also targeting civilian infrastructure. The Stepanakert town hall called on its residents on Wednesday morning to stay in shelters and not flee.
“Silencing the guns”
The resumption of hostilities in this territory, which took place at the UN General Assembly in New York, caused turmoil in the international community.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called “in the strongest terms, for an immediate end to the fighting, de-escalation and stricter respect for the 2020 ceasefire and the principles of international humanitarian law” .
France, for its part, denounced an “illegal” and “unjustifiable” offensive by Baku.
At the end of his weekly audience at the Vatican, Pope Francis called on Wednesday to “silence the guns”.
Russia also urged Wednesday morning to “immediately stop the bloodshed, end hostilities and stop civilian casualties.”
As for Armenia, which denounced a “large-scale aggression” for the purposes of “ethnic cleansing”, it assured that it had no troops in Nagorno-Karabakh, suggesting that the separatists had fought alone against Azerbaijani soldiers. .
Tensions have been growing for months around this territory which has already been at the heart of two wars between Yerevan and Baku.