Armenian protesters demand PM’s resignation after Nagorno-Karabakh cease-fire
Thousands of Armenian protesters demanded Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian step down over a cease-fire deal that saw territorial concessions to Azerbaijan in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Protesters shouted “Nikol is a traitor” in Liberty Square in central Yerevan. Several hundred demonstrators marched on parliament but were blocked by police in riot gear.
Police said that 135 people were arrested and later released. Among them was Gagik Tsarukyan, the leader of the opposition Prosperous Armenia party — the second biggest faction in Armenian parliament.
Armenian police observe a rally in Freedom Square in central Yerevan
It was the second day of protests in Armenia since the Nagorno-Karabakh peace deal with Azerbaijan was reached. Protesters stormed government buildings on Tuesday demanding that parliament invalidate the agreement.
Cease-fire in Nagorno-Karabakh
Pashinian agreed to the peace deal with Azerbaijan and regional power Russia on Tuesday. The accord ended six-week conflict in the disputed region, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but run by Armenian inhabitants.
The fighting was the worst the area had seen since a war in the early 1990s. More than 1,400 people, including many civilians, were confirmed killed in the clashes since the end of September. However, the real death toll is believed to be much higher.
According to the cease-fire, Armenia was to cede control of several areas in the disputed region that Azerbaijan seized during the fighting. Russia, which has a defense pact with Armenia, would also send peacekeepers to stay in the region for five years.
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Human toll in Azerbaijan-Armenia fight for Nagorno-Karabakh
Residential area reduced to rubble
The governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan accuse each other of deliberately bombing civilian targets. For example, part of the city of Shusha in Nagorno-Karabakh’s famous 19th-century cathedral was destroyed in early October. According to authorities in the Nagorno-Karabakh region , Azerbaijani troops are just a few kilometers from the strategically important city.
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Human toll in Azerbaijan-Armenia fight for Nagorno-Karabakh
Destroyed livelihood
Ragiba Guliyeva stands in the ruins of her house in Ganja, Azerbaijan’s second largest city, which was hit in a rocket attack. “I was in the kitchen when beams and stones rained on me all of a sudden,” she said. “I screamed as loudly as I could.” Ganja is dozens of kilometers from the front. The government of Azerbaijan blames Armenian troops for the attack.
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Human toll in Azerbaijan-Armenia fight for Nagorno-Karabakh
Mourning the children
Several people were killed in the attack on Ganja, according to Azerbaijani authorities. Guliyeva’s 13-year-old grandson, Artur, was one of the victims. At a church service, teachers and classmates paid their respects. According to official figures, at least 130 civilians were killed on both sides.
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Human toll in Azerbaijan-Armenia fight for Nagorno-Karabakh
Volunteering for the front
Authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh say 1,200 soldiers have died since fighting started in September. Azerbaijan’s government has not reported the extent of its military losses. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently mentioned a total of 5,000 people dead on both sides. Young men keep on volunteering for service at the front, such as these fighters in the Nagorno-Karabakh capital, Stepanakert.
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Human toll in Azerbaijan-Armenia fight for Nagorno-Karabakh
A decades-old conflict
The region has been controlled by Armenian separatists since Azerbaijan’s government lost control in a territorial war from 1988 to 1994. A fragile ceasefire has been in effect since. The painting in a school in Barda honors a soldier who died.
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Human toll in Azerbaijan-Armenia fight for Nagorno-Karabakh
International intervention?
Propaganda and war rhetoric govern everyday life in Azerbaijan, which is ruled by an authoritarian regime. The government, in Baku, receives weapons and expressions of solidarity from Turkey. Russia is the protective power for Armenia’s government, in Yerevan. Observers warn that the regional powers could actively intervene in the conflict.
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Human toll in Azerbaijan-Armenia fight for Nagorno-Karabakh
Holding out in shelters
Regional authorities estimate that half of the residents, or 75,000 people, could flee the fighting. Residents who remain continue to hold out in basements and shelters.
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Human toll in Azerbaijan-Armenia fight for Nagorno-Karabakh
The coronavirus in a conflict zone
Life in shelters has become routine for many Stepanakert residents. The rooms are crowded and poorly ventilated. The people are safe from the bomb attacks, but doctors warn of a rapid spread of the coronavirus. There are no officials figures, but some doctors have estimated that about half of the shelters’ residents test positive on a daily basis.
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Human toll in Azerbaijan-Armenia fight for Nagorno-Karabakh
Classrooms as emergency shelters
People fled the fighting in Azerbaijan, too, including from the town of Terter, which is right on the front. Some found refuge in neighboring Barda, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Nagorno-Karabakh, where schools have been used as emergency shelters since the end of September. But they are not safe either.
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Human toll in Azerbaijan-Armenia fight for Nagorno-Karabakh
The front approaches
Several buildings were destroyed and cars burned out during an air raid on Barda a few days ago. Azerbaijani authorities reported at least 21 dead and dozens injured. The Armenian government denied the attack, but Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, pledged “retaliation on the battlefield” and “revenge.”
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Human toll in Azerbaijan-Armenia fight for Nagorno-Karabakh
No foreseeable peace
The fighting continues. The government of Azerbaijan has demanded the complete withdrawal of Armenian troops from Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia’s prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, has officially asked Russia for help. The Foreign Ministry has pledged Russia’s “necessary assistance” should the fighting shift to Armenian territory.
In weeks leading up to the accord, Azerbaijan had claimed several territorial gains and separatists admitted that Armenia had risked losing control of much more territory given the pace of the conflict.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said it was “extremely painful for me personally and for our people,” and described the situation as a “catastrophe.”
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev declared victory in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on Wednesday at a meeting with military members.
Turkey, Russia to monitor cease-fire
The Russian army said that peacekeepers had arrived in Nagorno-Karabakh and were patrolling the Lachin corridor, which connects the region with Armenia.
Meanwhile, Turkey, Azerbaijan’s main ally, announced an agreement with Moscow to coordinate efforts to monitor the cease-fire, which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed as the end of a 28-year Armenian occupation of Azeri land.
“Turkey will take part in the joint peace force to be formed to monitor the cease-fire along with Russia,” Erdogan told members of his AK Party in parliament on Wednesday. “The relevant agreement on the formation of the joint Turkish-Russian center to monitor the ceasefire was signed this morning. It will be formed on Azeri lands liberated from occupation.”
dv/msh (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
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