Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, said its "anti-terrorist" campaign on the blockaded region, which local Armenians call Artsakh, was "limited" and necessary to restore order, and that it was committed to peace. However, the previous offensive, in which Azerbaijan retook land from a local Armenian population, was fiercely fought amid widespread accusations of war crimes.
Video from Stepanakert appeared to show bomb raid warnings blaring and the sounds of artillery fire.
Other video seemed to show Azerbaijan using drones to strike anti-air defence positions. Artillery fire, possibly from a Grad multiple rocket launcher system, could also be heard on the outskirts of the city of Askeran. "As part of the measures, positions on the frontline and in-depth, longterm firing points of the formations of Armenia's armed forces, as well as combat assets and military facilities are incapacitated using high-precision weapons," the Azerbaijani ministry of defence said.
The ministry claimed weapons were not being used against civilian positions but the strikes were clearly being carried out in close proximity to major cities and population centres.
"We have heard lots of explosions in Stepanakert, it was both artillery shelling and UAV strikes, drone strikes," said Artak Beglaryan, a former adviser to the self-declared government of Artsakh. He estimated he had heard dozens or hundreds of explosions yesterday.
This story is from the September 20, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the September 20, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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