BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct. 4
Trend:
Armenian President Armen Sarkissian dreams of crusades, well-known Arab journalist-researcher, expert on the South Caucasus Abdul-Hamid Gutub told Trend.
“On this basis, as an official, he made a statement on the air of the TV channel that Armenians from different countries (Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt) are heading to Nagorno-Karabakh to participate in the military conflict,” Gutub noted.
“This is a gross violation of international law. Regardless of nationality, citizens of another country have no right to fight on the territory of another country,” the Arab expert said.
The Armenians brought in from the Middle East, specifically from Lebanon, have combat experience, since most of them had previously fought in Syria against civilians as part of Christian militias, Gutub said.
“The world community should know that military operations are taking place exclusively on the territory of Azerbaijan. Actually, Azerbaijan promotes the implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions, which call on Armenia, as an aggressor country, to withdraw its troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories,” he 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.
Azerbaijan responded with a counter-offensive along the entire front. As a result of retaliation, Azerbaijani troops liberated a number of territories previously occupied by Armenia, as well as take important, strategic heights under control.
Military actions continued in the following days. According to a statement from Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry, the Armenian armed forces have suffered heavy losses along the entire front line from Sept. 27 through Sept. 30, including tanks, armored vehicles, artillery installations, rocket launch systems, as well as command and observation posts, air defense systems, etc.
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.