Published 15:21 IST, October 5th 2020
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: Four explosions heard outside Stepanakert amid tensions
On the morning of October 5, four blasts were heard outside Stepanakert, the capital of unrecognized Republic of Artsakh.
On the morning of October 5, four blasts were heard outside Stepanakert, the capital of unrecognized Republic of Artsakh. According to the reports by ANI, on hearing the explosion sound, the local residents hid in a basement. A conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region started during late September.
Tensions increase at Nagorno-Karabakh
The new conflict began on September 27 and is being considered to be the heaviest in decades. Hundreds of people have been killed in the past week, including over 40 civilians. The fight between the two countries has raised international concern about stability in the South Caucasus, where pipelines carry Azeri oil and gas to world markets. There have also been fears of the clashes expanding into a multi-front war. While Ankara is Azerbaijan’s strongest supporter, Moscow, on the other hand, has a military base in Armenia.
On October 4, Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev said that the country will not cease military action until Armenia withdraws its troops from the disputed region. The two former Soviet republics have been locked in a simmering conflict for decades over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is an ethnic Armenian enclave with Azerbaijan. Aliyev said, “Azerbaijan has one condition, and that is the liberation of its territories. Nagorno-Karabakh is the territory of Azerbaijan. We must return and we shall return. My condition is the following: let them withdraw their troops, and the confrontation will be stopped, but this should not be in words, but in deeds”.
(Image Credits: @AzerbaijanMOD/Twitter)
Updated 15:20 IST, October 5th 2020