Caucasus, fight

The following article comes from the Earth Knowledge Bureau Author Dmitry

Humanities, Geography, Design, Global Vision, New Three Views

According to foreign media reports, on Sunday, September 27, local time, Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Caucasus region due to a territorial dispute in a large-scale conflict, resulting in a large number of casualties.

The fighting was fierce

（图片：MoD of Armenia / twitter）▼

Armenia and Azerbaijan, both former soviet republics, have been at dispute over territorial divisions since the collapse of the Soviet Union, in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

All three countries in the Caucasus are former Soviet republics

The sudden collapse of the Soviet Union left many problems behind

is an important cause of today's territorial dispute

There have been many outbreaks of friction between the two sides around the Naca region, but the two sides have exercised some restraint since 2016. Two months ago, there was renewed bloodshed on both sides, killing at least 16 people. 27 conflict is likely to be a continuation of the incident, the fighting is still ongoing.

The ruins are still there, and the hatred is deeper

(Picture: shutterstock@knovakov)

The ongoing conflict has undoubtedly undermined peace and stability in the region, and the great power behind the conflict between the two countries has plunged the Caucasus region into an unstoeable vortex.

Who moved the hand first?

The Nagorno-Karabakh region, known simply as Naka, is now widely considered by the international community to be part of Azerbaijan, with territory surrounded by Azerbaijan and not bordering Armenia.

Nagorno means mountain in Russian, while Karabakh is the black garden in Azerbaijani. Armenians do not agree with the Azerbaijani term, calling an area Artach.

What Armenians call "Artach"

The scope is larger than Nagorno-Karabakh

This area is directly adjacent to Armenia

The population of the Naka region is dominated by ethnic Armenians, so the people of the Naka region lack Azerbaijani identity. In the absence of accession to Armenia, it is currently under the effective rule of the local regime, the "Republic of Artach", and has been seeking integration with Armenia.

Above: Under the Armenian flag: The Altsach flag

Where the heart d'it d go, passers-by know it

(Photo: Wikipedia).

On 27 September, the Ministry of Defence of Armenia stated that, starting at 8:10 a.m. local time, Azerbaijan had unilaterally shelled the Naka area, targeting areas where ordinary people, including the capital Stepanakert, had settled, killing a woman and a child on the spot.

Children caught in the fire

（图片：MFA of Artsakh /twitter）▼

The exact casualty figures could not be verified at this time, but Armenia has begun to fight back on the basis of reverisse, with the foreign ministry saying in a statement: "Our response will be symmetrical and the military and political leaders of Azerbaijan take full responsibility for the situation." "

Nikol Pashinyan, Armenia's prime minister, reacted quickly, calling on men across the country to "be prepared to defend our sacred homeland." "

That's what all parties think:

(片:Nikol Pashinyan / twitter)

Pasinyan quickly launched a public opinion offensive on his social media account, praising his soldiers for their ability to protect their homeland from the invasion of neighbouring countries, while denouncing the military action by the Baku government of Azerbaijan as a pre-planned act of aggression that constituted a "massive provocation" to regional peace and security.

Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan said they shot down two Azerbaijani helicopters, three drones and three tanks were destroyed. However, this statement was opposed by Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan also says it has an advantage

The morale of destroying enemy tanks was high

（图片：Azərbaycan Respublikası Müdafiə Nazirliyi）▼

The Azerbaijani side denied that it had provoked the conflict and accused Armenian forces of carrying out "deliberate and targeted" attacks on the front lines.

At the same time, the Arab side announced a strategic counter-offensive, in order to "suppress the activities of the Armenian armed forces", while protecting the safety of civilians.

Azerbaijan released a video of the casualties of the opposing soldiers in the afternoon

(Photo: Ministry of Defence of Azerbaijan).

The Armenian Ministry of Defence denied all the damage, admitting only that one helicopter was missing, but that all the crew had been rescued and that 12 Armenian air defence systems had been destroyed.

The war of the new era is not just about confronting each other on the battlefield

Also take into account the public opinion of the Internet

Both sides have released field pictures to crush each other

（图片：MoD of Armenia / twitter）▼

In a televised address after the conflict, Azerbaijan's President Aliyev said that Armenia's policy was "a new war in the new territories" and that "Armenia has been consciously provoking Azerbaijan, and they will see the pain of this outcome", "Armenia is an aggressor, this aggression must end, this aggression must end!" "

'Karabağ bizimdir, Karabağ Azerbaycan’ındır'

"Karabakh is ours, Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan"

（图片：Azərbaycan Respublikası Müdafiə Nazirliyi）▼

At the end, he launched a fierce attack on the Armenian government, calling it "another manifestation of fascism." "

Both sides chisel, pointing out that the attack was launched by the other side first, and that they were only self-defense, as for the specific casualties and losses are also the word. For a time, this fierce conflict became Luo Shengmen, the truth is not yet out of the water.

Tensions were high on the local level in Nacca, where martial law was soon declared and troops were fully mobilized in response to the impending expansion of the war between the two countries.

Whoever wins or loses, the people of Naca will have to endure the terrible consequences of the war

（图片：MFA of Artsakh /twitter）▼

It's an enemy, it's heresy

As early as two months ago, there were small-scale bloody clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

In July of this year, shelling took place in civilian areas on the border between Tavosh in north-eastern Armenia and the Tauz region of Azerbaijan. At least 11 Azerbaijani soldiers and one Azerbaijani civilian were killed in the conflict, while four soldiers were killed on the Armenian side.

Tavosh and Tauz on both sides of the border

The outbreak of the front-line conflict has aroused strong dissatisfaction among Azerbaijani nationals. In the capital, Baku, thousands of people defied a ban on gathering under the new crown virus, waving flags and demanding that the government be tough and mobilize troops to retake the Naka region.

The scale has even forced the government to use water cannons

Old contradictions, will always fight

(Photo: BBC News).

After all, there is a sense of deprivation on both sides of the Nakka region, both Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The Caucasus region lies between Russia and the Middle East, where ethnic and religious conflicts have existed since ancient times. Of the three countries in the Caucasus region, Georgia is mainly Orthodox and Azerbaijan is mainly Islamic, while Armenia is the world's first Christian country.

Christian Armenia has a strong sense of siege in the south-central region

What's more, Turkey around is still a feud

The Little Caucasus Mountains in Armenia are said to be the last landing place of the biblical Noah's Ark, which is said to have docked on Mount Yarrarat, and is therefore the god of the Armenian people.

The world's oldest cathedral is located in Armenia

(Photo: Gromwell / Shutterstock).

Armenia existed as an ancient country for more than a thousand years until the rise of the Ottoman Empire, divided between Turkey and Iran. Later, East Armenia was re-founded with the support of the Soviet Union, but the mountain of Yarrarat in their hearts was occupied by Turkey until today.

Look out from the capital of Armenia to Mount Yarrarat

The mountain of God is still in my heart, but not in the land

(Photo: Սէրուժ Ուրիշեան / Wikipedia).

This hatred of Muslim-occupied land also extends to Azerbaijan, which itself considers to belong to the same people as Turkey.

As a result of the long-standing foreign occupation, the Caucasus became a mixed state of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, each with its own small settlement, but not a link.

The actual situation is indeed very complex

But it is also the result of a long history

For example, the Russian population is a long-term immigrant to the North Caucasus region

(Picture: wikipedia@Pmx)

This issue was not taken seriously during the Soviet period, and all three countries belonged to the Federal Soviet Socialist Republic of the Transcaucasian Union, and there was no need to distinguish between them.

This led to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the caucasus independence of the three countries, there have been many entrodes problems.

Less controversial is the autonomous republic of Nahichevan in southern Armenia, which is largely recognized by the international community as the territory of Azerbaijan but has its own independent tendencies.

The main contradiction is concentrated in the Naka region.

The Autonomous Republic of Nahychevan is a true edict

Naca is the "real outcumed."

In addition, there are some small moths along the northern border between the two countries

In the late 1980s, when the Soviet Union was already teetering, Armenians in Karabakh began demonstrating in stepanekt, their capital, in support of reunification with the Republic of Armenia. The indigenous people of Armenia expressed their solidarity with the demonstration.

Originally not anti-Soviet also do not want independence

After developing into a pan-Armenian movement, plus the Soviet Union, it was no enough

It's independent

(Photo: ՌուսլանՍարգսյան /wikipedia).

Karabakh's People's Congress voted 110 to 17 to approve the region's accession to Armenia. But the result was opposed by the Moscow authorities and the Azerbaijanis, and the war ensued.

A referendum was held in late 1991 declaring "independence"

Azerbaijanis, of course, do not recognize China

(Photo: Direct Democracy).

Power vacuum

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, there was a power vacuum in the Caucasus, and in the post-Soviet era no powerful power was able to mediate the conflict between the two sides, and the war began to move in an uncontrolled direction.

The two countries are both independent, and the question of Naca's ownership is on the table.

The conflict has escalated, with Armenian and Azerbaijani troops a large number of mercenaries from Ukraine and Russia. As many as a thousand Afghan holy fighters joined the Azerbaijani camp to fight, and Chechen fighters came to Azerbaijan to support the Muslim Brotherhood in its fight against Christians. The Armenian side, on the other hand, fell completely to Russia in order to obtain Russian arms assistance.

Azerbaijani soldiers during the war

The Islamic world provides not only personnel support, but also weapons support

（图片：Ruaf Mammadov / Wikipedia）▼

By the end of the war in 1994, thousands of soldiers had been killed on both sides, and more than 30,000 casualties of all kinds had been reported.

The war resulted in a mass migration of more than 1 million people, some 23 per cent of the population of the Naka region before the war was Azerbaijani, and almost all fled to other parts of the country during the war;

During the war, large areas of refugee camps were established

Homeless Naca residents are temporarily being housed

(Weddings in refugee camps)

（图片：Oleg Litvin / Wikipedia）▼

The war was a temporary cease-fire mediated by Russia, the United States and France, but the conflict did not subside. After the chaotic period after independence, the situation in the Caucasus became clearer.

As a Muslim country that considers itself a Turkic nation, Azerbaijan, like Ukraine and the Baltic states, has embarked on a path of confrontation with Russia and its allies, moving politically closer to Turkey and the United States.

Percentage of Shiite Muslims in Azerbaijan

Second only to religiously rulened Iran

It's just the most secular Muslim country

（图片：The Road Provides / Shutterstock）▼

Turkey is also happy to accept this new friend, on the one hand, the two languages and religions are similar. Some linguists even think that Albanian is the dialect of the Turkish language. Nearly 1.1 million Azerbaijanis currently live in Turkey, a figure that is rising because of the enthusiasm of the Albanian people to immigrate to Turkey.

Is it going to work this time?

(Photo: twitter

On the other hand, Turkey can use the Arab countries to expand its sphere of influence to the Caspian coast, the future access to the Caspian Sea oil and gas resources have a certain significance, is an important piece of the Russian-Turkish millennium confrontation.

Baku, the capital of Afghanistan, is close to the Rihai Sea

Turkey wants a piece of the Sea of The Rip, only through cooperation with The Arab Republic

(Inauguration of The Transatlantic Gas Pipeline in Turkey)

(Photo: President.az/Wikipedia).

Thus, after Azerbaijan's declaration of independence, Turkey was the first to recognize its status and to sign a military cooperation agreement with it, stressing that Turkey and any of The Azerbaijani parties would form a common security defence force in the face of attacks by a third or other State.

Two countries of the same people

A good ally of Turkic descent

(Photo: President.az / Wikipedia).

Armenia, the region's only Christian country, has historically been systematically massacred by the Turks, and can be described as a world-famous feud, and the two countries have not established diplomatic relations to date. Geographically, Armenia's territory is narrow, bordering Azerbaijan to the east and south and Turkey to the west.

During the Naka conflict

There have also been massacres against Armenia in Turkey

The massacres you came to me in the Caucasus were not once or twice

(Photo: Ilgar Jafarov / Wikipedia).