Intense fighting that broke out on Sunday between Armenia and Azerbaijan has left scores dead and hundreds wounded as the two neighboring states teeter on the brink of all-out war. At issue is the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave surrounded and claimed by Azerbaijan but de-facto controlled by forces representing the region’s Armenian majority.
Armed clashes were registered on the morning of September 27. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan blame the other side for initiating hostilities, but within hours battles were taking place involving artillery, airpower and ground forces. The two countries’ governments have both declared martial law.
All-out war between the two sides has not been seen since 1994, when an internationally-brokered ceasefire ended years of fighting that left tens of thousands dead. But fears are mounting that warfare on this scale could resume. Members of the Minsk Group — the guarantor states led by Russia, France and the United States that is tasked with monitoring the 1994 ceasefire — are attempting to mediate.
The conflict is made more complex by a number of geopolitical factors. The chauvinistic, ultra right wing government of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan views Armenia as an enemy state, a position held by successive Turkish capitalist governments with roots in the genocide against Armenians initiated by the Ottoman Empire in 1915. Turkey is a member of the imperialist NATO military alliance, and uses its diplomatic and military weight to support Azerbaijan. Israel is also a top supplier of weaponry to the government of Azerbaijan.
Armenia, on the other hand, maintains a key alliance with Russia. Although it was conceived as a bloc to combat the Soviet Union, NATO has maintained its hostile posture towards Russia even after the dissolution of the USSR.
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https://www.liberationnews.org/why-are-azerbaijan-and-armenia-on-the-brink-of-war/
