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Reuters fact-checks images of "Azerbaijani aircraft" shot down amid Karabakh conflict escalation

Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict Materials 29 September 2020 19:03 (UTC +04:00)
Reuters fact-checks images of "Azerbaijani aircraft" shot down amid Karabakh conflict escalation

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 29

Trend

Social media posts sharing images of a helicopter engulfed in flames as it crashes out of the sky do not show an Azerbaijani aircraft being downed, Trend reports citing Reuters.

The posts, from Facebook and Twitter, have attracted hundreds of reactions and retweets in less than 24 hours since they were posted online.

Both suggest the images show the downing of an Azerbaijani aircraft amid the current escalation of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Similar claims were made in Facebook posts in other languages.

"The images are actually screenshots from a video showing a widely reported incident from February, in which a helicopter was downed over the town of Nairab in Syria. A high quality version of the video can be seen here and from another angle here. Verdict: False. The images do not show an Azerbaijani helicopter being downed over the weekend as they are screenshots of a video from a separate, and earlier, incident in Syria in February," the Reuters report said.

Armenian armed forces launched a large-scale military attack on positions of Azerbaijani army on the front line, using large-caliber weapons, mortars and artillery on Sept. 27.

Military actions continued on Sept. 29.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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