Azerbaijan-Armenia Clashes Enter 28th Day

Azerbaijan Shoots Down One Air Force Aircraft... Armenia Denies It

[Asia Economy International Desk Reporter] Despite diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia, fighting around the Nagorno-Karabakh region continued for the 28th consecutive day on the 24th (local time).

Azerbaijan has seized a significant portion of the lowlands in southern Nagorno-Karabakh, while Armenia is resisting Azerbaijan's offensive in the northern mountainous areas.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense announced that it shot down one Armenian Air Force aircraft on the day, but the Armenian Ministry of Defense denied this.

Armenia accused Azerbaijan of shelling Stepanakert, the central city of Nagorno-Karabakh, causing civilian casualties.

On the other hand, Azerbaijan claimed that Armenia shelled the Azerbaijani city of Ganja, the town of Terter, and the Gubadli region, resulting in the deaths of two teenagers.

Since the 27th of last month, Nagorno-Karabakh, where the two sides have been engaged in fighting, was Azerbaijani territory with a majority Armenian population during the Soviet era when both countries were part of the USSR.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Nagorno-Karabakh declared itself an independent republic and announced plans to unify with Armenia, but Azerbaijan rejected this, leading to a war between the two sides from 1992 to 1994.

Currently, Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory, but it is a disputed region effectively controlled by Armenia. The unrecognized state "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" changed its name to "Artsakh" in 2017.

On the 10th, both sides agreed to a ceasefire mediated by Russia, but immediately afterward, each side accused the other of violating the ceasefire agreement and continued fighting.

On the 18th, Russia again mediated a ceasefire agreement, but it was effectively broken within hours.

The foreign ministers of both countries held separate talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington the day before, seeking a diplomatic solution, but no resolution was reached.

Casualties from the fighting are increasing. The Republic of Artsakh announced that since the outbreak of the conflict, 963 Nagorno-Karabakh defenders and 37 civilians have died as of this day.

Azerbaijan reported 65 civilian deaths and about 300 injuries but has not disclosed the scale of its military casualties.

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated on the 22nd that approximately 5,000 deaths have been confirmed on both Azerbaijani and Armenian sides.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.