Nagorno-Karabakh is a mountainous region of 150,000 people the size of Delaware and is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, despite it being populated by mostly Armenians. Conflict in this region between the two groups has intensified in the last few weeks as the latest round of fighting has killed over 350 people and cities have faced heavy bombing.
It’s important to note that this conflict didn’t emerge from nowhere. This is a decades-long conflict that fully took root in 1920, where Armenia and Azerbaijan went to war over Nagorno-Karabakh. Azeri forces backed by Russia got control of the region, but a year later it was promised to the Armenians by the Russians. Stalin contradicted the agreement and made sure Azerbaijan still held onto it. At the Soviet Union’s collapse towards the end of the 20th century, Armenians within Nagorno-Karabakh voted to join Armenia. Once Soviet forces left the region, the battle intensified as Armenians within Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence. The two sides engaged in a bloody conflict as innocent civilians from both sides were killed. Ultimately, Azerbaijan suffered a bitter defeat, losing about 13% of its territory, with as many as 26,000 dead and around 800,000 displaced. Armenians managed to force Azeri forces out of Nagorno-Karabakh and the conflict ended in a ceasefire in 1994.
Now, the ceasefire was broken and the conflict has reignited into full-scale attacks. Depending on which side is asked, no one can exactly be sure who was the one to break the ceasefire. If one asks the Armenians, they say that Azerbaijan broke the ceasefire, however, Azeris state that they were acting in self-defense. Either way, the conflict is escalating with the entrance of new countries. For example, Turkey has only made matters worse. Seeking more influence in the region, it fully backs its longtime ally Azerbaijan, with which it shares a cultural connection to because the Azeris are a Turkic ethnic group. Observers say Turkey has sent at least 1,000 Syrian fighters to aid Azerbaijan and given the country’s forces weapons and training, however, Turkey denies this.
Regardless, the civilian casualties are undeniable as some sources claim the death count is at 5,000. Many residents of Nagorno-Karabakh have been sheltered in their basements for days as they are barraged with constant shelling and armed conflicts being scattered throughout the region.
While experts hope for a diplomatic solution to the decades-old conflict, or at the very least another ceasefire, citizens on both sides of the conflict see a ceasefire as a temporary solution. Many fear the fighting will continue until either Armenia deals Azerbaijan a militarily decisive blow or Azerbaijan reclaims much or all of Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenian prime minister hopes Nagorno-Karabakh gains independence while Azerbaijan’s president hopes to liberate the region, suggesting that there’s not much hope for a resolution or an end to the bloodshed.
Written by: Kawsar Yasin
Edited by: Eliza Quesenberry, Nicole Walker, & Paige Inocencio