A new voice calls for an end to the fighting. Pope Francis called on Wednesday, September 20, from the Vatican, “all parties involved and the international community to silence the guns and that all necessary efforts be made to find peaceful solutions (…)”. Azerbaijan launched a new military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday, three years after a war which resulted in a military rout of Armenia. Follow our live stream.
Baku sets its conditions. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Wednesday: “that anti-terrorist measures will be stopped if (Armenian separatists) lay down their arms and are disarmed”according to a presidential press release published following a telephone call with the American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.
The UN calls for an “immediate end to the fighting”. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for “de-escalation and [le] stricter compliance with the 2020 ceasefire and the principles of international humanitarian law”.
At least 29 dead. Since Tuesday, the fighting left at least 29 dead. Separatists reported 27 deaths, including two civilians, and more than 200 injured, while around 7,000 residents of 16 localities were evacuated. Azerbaijan reported that two civilians had died in areas under its control. Separatists say several towns in Nagorno-Karabakh, including the capital, Stepanakert, are being targeted by “intensive shooting”which also target civil infrastructure.
A “large-scale attack”. Armenia denounced this offensive carried out for the purposes of “ethnic cleansing”, according to her. She assured that she had no troops in Nagorno-Karabakh, suggesting that the separatists were alone against Azerbaijani soldiers. Yerevan considers that it is up to Russia, guarantor of a ceasefire dating from 2020 with peace forces on the ground, to act to “stop Azerbaijani aggression”.
Moscow calls for an end to the fighting. Russia called on Wednesday to “immediately cease the bloodshed, bring an end to hostilities and stop civilian casualties” In the region. Moscow is demanding a return to the agreements negotiated under its aegis which resulted in a ceasefire in 2020, but not a peace agreement.