BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct.5
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Shelling of civilians in Azerbaijan by Armenia is a bloodthirsty and unacceptable tactic of desperation, a war crime for which the responsible officials should face sanctions, trials, and be forced to pay reparations, US journalist and analyst Irina Tsukerman told Trend.
“Armenia has claimed that these attacks are in response to alleged shelling of civilians by Azerbaijan without presenting any evidence, and implying that it is within its rights to attack civilians as retaliation. This disturbing dimension of the information war on their part is looking to dehumanize Azerbaijanis in the eyes of the international community. When you start targeting civilians, it means you are otherwise losing the war and have no path to victory by conventional means,” she said.
Tsukerman noted that Armenia has lost control of a significant portion of occupied territories. “Admitting defeat would mean losing face. Therefore, it is expanding and escalating to drive up human costs for Azerbaijan and to force international intervention that would prevent Baku from further gains.”
Everyone should see Armenia's actions for what they are, and not buy into their stream of lies, she added.
“By the way, by deliberately placing any Armenian civilians in harm's way near military installations, Yerevan is also engaging in the use of human shields and would bear sole responsibility for anything that happens to them, given that they started the attacks and are refusing to withdraw. Such tactics are no different from what terrorist organizations like Hezbullah, Houthis, and Hamas do.”
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.
The fighting continued into October 2020, in the early days of which Armenia has launched missile attacks on Azerbaijani cities of Ganja, Mingachevir, Khizi as well as Absheron district.
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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