The vicious war against the Armenian Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabagh) and Armenia by Azerbaijan, Turkey, and thousands of their jihadist terrorists has passed the one month mark.
The jihadis’ presence, which includes ISIS, is consistent with the debauched political cultures and national ambitions of Azerbaijan and Turkey. It also tells us that the U.S./NATO/EU stance towards those countries continues to be dangerously passive.
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) activists have confirmed that the Turkish government has transported a new batch of mercenaries from Syria to Azerbaijan. The recent batch has comprised over 400 fighters of “Sultan Murad”, “Al-Hamzat Division” and other factions, who were supposed to be sent earlier to Azerbaijan. However, Turkey’s transfer of Syrian mercenaries to Nagorno-Karabakh has been suspended for awhile due to the ceasefire agreement. Accordingly, the total number of Syrian fighters sent to Azerbaijan has risen to at least 2,050.
Until late last month, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh had been mostly frozen, with occasional skirmishes, for over a quarter of a century. One notable exception was the April 2016 “four-day war,” a brief but intense period of fighting that left over 200 people dead and was followed by claims of victory from both sides. The recent fighting that erupted on Sept. 27 has been much more intense; over 600 soldiers have been killed on the Armenian side alone, along with scores of civilians and an undisclosed number of Azerbaijani personnel.
Action expected in recent months has begun to find its logical explanation in the actions of Ms. Tulsi Gabbard, a congresswoman and member of the US House of Representatives. Ms. Gabbard submitted a resolution to the US House of Representatives to expel Turkey from NATO.
Drones have proven their effectiveness in the course of hostilities, Azerbaijan has a sufficient number of such vehicles from Turkey and other countries to achieve its goal in Nagorno-Karabakh.
What is happening in the Caucasus region and the fierce clashes between the Armenian and Azerbaijani military. According to the latest information from Russian news agencies, Russian bombers struck powerful training camps at Syrian mercenaries.
The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh continues to complicate and build a crisis in the region, which is unknown how it will end in the future. According to Russian and Syrian intelligence, in both Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh, hundreds of Syrian mercenaries have been transported to training camps.
Azerbaijan has admitted using Turkish-manufactured armed drones in clashes against Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, acknowledging it for the first time since the conflict was reignited.
In a televised interview with the Turkish news channel TRT Haber yesterday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said: “Thanks to advanced Turkish drones owned by the Azerbaijan military, our casualties on the front shrunk.” He praised the efficiency of the drones, stating: “These drones show Turkey’s strength. It also empowers us.”
Iran is growing increasingly concerned about the fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia and Armenia and has continued to issue statements and escalate rhetoric.
Azerbaijan said that it had “liberated” seven villages on Saturday, which led to cheers in Baku.
Sunday has brought more escalation between Armenia and Azerbaijan as the countries continue to rely on missiles and rockets to shell each other over the last few days. The attack on the Armenian controlled town of Stepanakert on Saturday was followed by a long-range missile attack on Ganja in Azerbaijan.