In Nagorno-Karabakh, on March 5, a shootout took place between Azerbaijani and Armenian soldiers. Baku accuses Armenia of illegally transporting military personnel and ammunition to Karabakh. Yerevan, in turn, denies these accusations and insists that the Azerbaijanis fired on the Karabakh policemen. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan and Armenia are reporting deaths on both sides.
Azerbaijan’s position
How claim in the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan, the exchange of fire occurred due to the fact that the Armenians transported military equipment, ammunition and personnel to Karabakh along the Khankendi-Khalfali- Turshsu, although the only route that can be used between Karabakh and Armenia is the Khankendi-Lachin route. When the Azerbaijani army tried to detain and control the vehicles, the Armenian side opened fire and a clash began, Baku notes.
According to the military department, as a result of the incident, there are dead and injured on both sides. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense does not give their exact number.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan has also noted that Yerevan, contrary to the provisions of the trilateral ceasefire declaration, is transporting its troops and mines to Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku also blamed Armenia for the worsening situation in the region.
“Such acts of aggression and provocation demonstrate that Armenia has not abandoned its policy of occupation towards Azerbaijan, that Armenia’s views on the peace agenda are nothing but hypocrisy and that Armenia is not interested in establishing peace and security in the region,” they said. at the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Position of Nagorno-Karabakh
The Interior Ministry of Artsakh (Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh), in turn, reported that in the morning a group of Azerbaijani military saboteurs attacked the Karabakh police service car in the area from Haipalu, transmits Armenpress. Three Karabakh policemen were killed in the clash, one was injured, the department said. There too noted that the police and army of Artsakh resisted, pushing the attackers back to their original positions.
According to the Artsakh Interior Ministry, there are also dead and injured among Azerbaijanis, but their exact number is not given. Russian peacekeepers arrived at the scene of the clash and examined the damaged vehicle. Artsakh police also released footage from the scene, which notably shows the UAZ shooting.
Gurgen Nersisyan, Minister of State of Artsakh appointed lies “and an attempt to mislead the international community” of Azerbaijan’s claim that the car that was attacked was carrying weapons from Armenia to Karabakh. As noted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Artsakh, the car attacked by the Azerbaijanis belonged to the passport and visa department of the police, it had no weapons, and the police themselves drove from Stepanakert at his place of duty.
Armenia’s position
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia think that the Nagorno-Karabakh incident was a “pre-planned” “provocation” by Azerbaijan. The Foreign Ministry noted that Baku had provided no evidence that the car attacked was carrying military personnel and weapons.
At the same time, according to Yerevan, the Nagorno-Karabakh police have a video that refutes Azerbaijan’s version. This video, according to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, indicates that the Azerbaijanis attacked a UAZ minibus with four local policemen, and that there was nothing in the car itself except service documents and small arms .
“The actions of the Azerbaijani sabotage group cannot (otherwise) be called terrorism. <…> Azerbaijan continues to terrorize the Armenian population of Artsakh with the ultimate goal of ethnic cleansing, creating inhuman living conditions in their homeland,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry said.
Armenian Roving Ambassador Edmon Marukyan on Twitter also called the incident a “terrorist attack”.
Azerbaijan considers Nagorno-Karabakh, which is predominantly populated by Armenians, as part of its territory. In 2020, a conflict broke out between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia on the one hand and Azerbaijan on the other, which led to the signing of a trilateral agreement between Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. After the end of the hot phase of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, clashes occur from time to time. Additionally, in December 2022, the Azerbaijanis blocked the Lachin Corridor, which connects Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh. According to the former state minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Ruben Vardanyan, such actions of the Azerbaijanis caused essential goods to stop entering the republic.
