Azerbaijan launches new military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh
Al JazeeraOct 01, 2023
The Facts
Armenian leaders from Nagorno-Karabakh met with Azerbaijani officials on Thursday to discuss the dissolution of their unrecognized state, with Azerbaijan’s president saying that the "reintegration of the Armenian population of Karabakh, restoration of infrastructure and organization of activities based on the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan" had been discussed. Meanwhile, locals reported that some armed clashes may have erupted in the region's de facto capital, among other areas.
After Azerbaijan launched a military operation on Tuesday against the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is under ethnic-Armenian control, local forces surrendered on Wednesday under a Russian-brokered agreement to dissolve their military forces, disarm, and engage in talks regarding how to integrate the contested region into Azerbaijan. Local officials reported that scores of soldiers and civilians were killed and wounded in the fighting.
The Spin
Narrative A
It is clear what Azerbaijan's intentions are — ethnically cleanse Nagorno-Karabakh, known to Armenians as Artsakh. Azerbaijan, after weakening the region through months of a brutal siege, has decided that it does not need to follow international law or norms and can simply attack Artsakh's Armenian population. Without outside intervention and protection, thousands of years of Armenian history, heritage, and culture will be erased. Civilians were already enduring hard times due to the siege, and now they face the loss of their homeland.
Narrative B
Azerbaijan has finally triumphed and reclaimed its sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh. The goals of this anti-terror operation were to simply dislodge Armenia's military presence in the region and ensure the return of refugees displaced by Armenia in the first war. The civilian population and civilian infrastructure were not targeted, as Azerbaijan was only interested in neutralizing Armenian military targets. The only good war is a short war, and peace can finally return to the region.
