Armenia says 49 soldiers killed in attacks by Azerbaijan as new clashes erupt

YEREVAN, Armenia — Azerbaijani forces shelled Armenia’s territory on Tuesday in a large-scale assault that killed not less than 49 Armenian troopers and fueled fears of even broader hostilities.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in a decades-old battle over Nagorno-Karabakh, which is a part of Azerbaijan however has been below the management of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist conflict there led to 1994. Azerbaijan reclaimed broad swaths of Nagorno-Karabakh in a six-week conflict in 2020 that killed greater than 6,600 folks and ended with a Russia-brokered peace deal.

Moscow, which deployed about 2,000 troops to the area to function peacekeepers below the deal, moved shortly to dealer a cease-fire on Tuesday morning, however it wasn’t instantly clear whether or not it was holding.

The hostilities erupted minutes after midnight, with Azerbaijani forces unleashing an artillery barrage and drone assaults in lots of sections of Armenian territory, in response to the Armenian Protection Ministry.

Azerbaijan charged that its forces returned fireplace in response to “large-scale provocations” by the Armenian navy, claiming that the Armenian troops planted mines and repeatedly fired on Azerbaijani navy positions, leading to unspecified casualties and harm to navy infrastructure.

Azerbaijan’s ally Turkey additionally positioned the blame for the violence on Armenia. Turkish International Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu referred to as for Yerevan to halt its “provocations” and Protection Minister Hulusi Akar condemned “Armenia’s aggressive perspective and provocative actions” following talks with their counterparts in Baku.

Talking in parliament early Tuesday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan mentioned that Azerbaijani shelling has killed not less than 49 Armenian troopers.

He mentioned the Azerbaijani motion adopted his current European Union-brokered talks in Brussels with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that exposed what he described as Azerbaijan’s uncompromising stand.

Pashinyan referred to as Russian President Vladimir Putin in a single day and likewise had cellphone calls with French President Emmanuel Macron, European Council President Charles Michel, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to debate the hostilities.

The Armenian authorities mentioned that the nation will formally ask Russia for help below a friendship treaty between the nations and likewise attraction to the United Nations and the Collective Safety Treaty Group, a Moscow-dominated safety alliance of ex-Soviet nations that features Armenia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov kept away from touch upon Yerevan’s request, however added that Putin was “taking each effort to assist de-escalate tensions.”

Russia’s International Ministry urged each events “to chorus from additional escalation and present restraint” and voiced hope {that a} cease-fire brokered by Moscow this morning will maintain.