Dozens Reportedly Killed After Azerbaijan-Armenia Clashes

Facts

• New border clashes erupted between Armenia and Azerbaijan near the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh on Mon. night. The latest round of fighting between the two countries continued on Tues., raising fears of another military escalation.
• Armenia claimed that 49 of its soldiers were killed in the border clashes. Earlier, it said it had responded to what it characterized as a "large-scale provocation" by Baku. Azerbaijan, in turn, accused Yerevan of military buildup in the border area and claimed to have reacted after being attacked by Armenia.
• On Tues., Russia reportedly brokered a cease-fire between the two countries that was to take effect the same day. However, while Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan reportedly said that fighting intensity had decreased, Azerbaijani media claimed that the cease-fire was broken within minutes.
• U.S. Sec. of State Antony Blinken on Mon. called for an immediate end to the recent fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan, saying there was "no military solution" to the conflict.
• The two nations in the Caucasus region last clashed in Aug. over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which lies within Azerbaijan's borders but is predominantly populated by ethnic Armenians.
• In Nov. 2020, Russia, which maintains a regional peacekeeping mission, brokered a cease-fire agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia that ended a six-week war over the disputed region that reportedly killed at least 6.5K people.

Sources: DW, Reuters, Alarabiya, Albanian Daily, CNN, and MSN.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Daily Sabah. The underlying cause of the recent military clashes is that Yerevan still doesn't recognize Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty - which includes recognizing Nagorno-Karabakh as Azeri territory. To ensure peace, a new demarcation and delimitation process must be initiated. Unfortunately, Armenia is preventing this by imposing many unreasonable preconditions.
• Narrative B, as provided by Providence. It was Azerbaijan, supported by Turkey, that started a brutal war against Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh. However, even after the official cessation of fighting, there is no end to Baku's ceasefire violations and aggressions against Armenians. These include cutting off natural gas supplies to the local population. So far, only Russian peacekeepers have prevented Azerbaijan from unleashing a new full-blown war.