Nagorno-Karabakh heating up again - Armenia accuses Azerbaijan of all-out 'war'

[galdur]

Armenia accuses Azerbaijan of all-out 'war'
Defence ministry says ceasefire doesn't exist as hostilities over disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region escalate.

22 Dec 2015 17:25 GMT

Armenia says a ceasefire with neighbouring Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh no longer exists, describing frequent skirmishes at the front line as "war".

Artsrun Hovhannisyan, a spokesman of Armenia's defence ministry, said on Tuesday that Azerbaijan was using "all existing armaments: tanks, howitzers, and anti-aircraft artillery" against Armenian soldiers in the disputed region.

"What we have today is a war," said Hovhannisyan. "We must use the word 'war' as there is no ceasefire anymore."  



Azerbaijan responded with counter-accusations, blaming Armenia for the recent escalation.

"Ceasefire violations are taking place because of the illegal presence of Armenian forces in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan," Hikmat Hajiyevm, Azerbaijan's foreign ministry spokesman, told the AFP news agency.

"Armenia has to withdraw from the seized lands ... only afterwards the sustainable peace can be guaranteed in the region."

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/12/armenia-accuses-azerbaijan-war-151222134855846.html

[bryant.coleman]

Seems like Aliyev is trying to divert attention from the worsening economy, by attacking the Karabakh forces. Azerbaijan has seen its oil revenues decline by as much as 75%, and mass layoffs are starting to occur in the oil rigs and natural gas fields. A war with the Armenes will help Aliyev to declare a state of emergency, and remain as the president until the economy improves.

[galdur]

Seems like Aliyev is trying to divert attention from the worsening economy, by attacking the Karabakh forces. Azerbaijan has seen its oil revenues decline by as much as 75%, and mass layoffs are starting to occur in the oil rigs and natural gas fields. A war with the Armenes will help Aliyev to declare a state of emergency, and remain as the president until the economy improves.

Could be that the falling oil is behind this flare-up or maybe the Azeris hope to be able to do something while most attention is focused on the nearby war. We´ll see.

[Balthazar]

By the way, there is unofficial ban of exchanging local Azeri currency for Ruble, it's in force since Monday. All banks are refusing to sell rubles. They're claiming that they have no sufficient amount of ruble in cash and offering to buy either USD or EUR instead.

[galdur]

Heh, I guess it´s time to join the European Union...

“Azerbaijan has moved to a floating exchange rate but someone forgot to teach it how to swim,” said Natiq Cafarli, an economist and member of the opposition Republican Alternative.

[galdur]

I know pretty little of Azerbaijan but I do know that they always have numerous excellent chess grandmasters. This is pretty typical Soviet School of Chess, in the blood from a very young age, very well trained from the first, technically proficient. Very creative and dangerous players. Mamedyarov, Radjabov, Mamedov, Gashimov (R.I.P., died last year at only 28) and of course the great Garry Kasparov.

If you´re into chess, take a look at

Qatar Master 2015 Round 3 Mamedyarov vs Lenderman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fvTIaaL36o

[Balthazar]

Kasparov was great until he lost a game with computer. He went crazy after that.

[galdur]

Kasparov was great until he lost a game with computer. He went crazy after that.

Well, it takes  a genius to become world chess champion and maybe geniuses are also mad to some degree. There can be a thin line, I´m sure. At least I would never expect them to appear like your average dumbass in our times. I have no emotional attachment to people like Kasparov, Fischer etc. Crazy? Can´t really care. I just look at their games.

[galdur]

Anyway, Nagorno-Karabakh was in the news every day twenty years ago. There was a terrible war with atrocities and massacres. Not that it was anything new in these parts, the history is very violent stretching back thousands of years. So that´s business as usual and didn´t shock me awfully much. But what I was particularly concerned about at the time was the Karabakh horse, the horseman I used to be. I knew that there were pretty few left of them and somehow feared that they´d be totally exterminated during this slaughter. That´s how crazy I am, but I think they came out all right.

[bryant.coleman]

I know pretty little of Azerbaijan but I do know that they always have numerous excellent chess grandmasters.

I don't have a good opinion about these Azeris. Most of the heroin trade in Russia is controlled by them, with the help of the Tadzhik and Uzbek thugs. And taking in to account that Russia has lost at least 3 million young men of working age to heroin addition in the last 20-years or so, I would say that it will be good for Russia if the Azerbaijanis get kicked in their asses by Armenia.

[xht]

The Azerbaijan another Turkish or ISIS lowing country is constantly attacking the independent Republic of Nagorno Karabakh.

[Daniel91]

Ohh no again.
Those 2 countries already had very big war conflict about this area, I hope they will not start again.
It's much better for them to start peace talk and try to find some peaceful solution.

[bryant.coleman]

The Azerbaijan another Turkish or ISIS lowing country is constantly attacking the independent Republic of Nagorno Karabakh.

A significant part of the narco-money earned by the Azeri drug traffickers in Russia and Ukraine ends up with the Islamic State. Also, they are among the most important recruiters of the Islamic State in Russia, mostly targeting the migrant workers from the Central Asian countries such as Uzbekistan, Tadzhikistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

[galdur]

Armenia-Azerbaijan Karabakh Conflict Escalates, Casualties Reported

09:17 02.04.2016

Armenia and Azerbaijan reported that the Karabakh conflict is turning violent and accused each other of conducting offensive warfare.

"The Armed Forces of Armenia violated the truce along the line of contact 127 times over the past 24 hours," Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in a statement Saturday.

It added that Armenian military used mortars and heavy machine-guns.

The Armenian Defense Ministry issued a statement reporting about "active offensive combat waged by the opposing side on the night of April 1" with the use of "battle tanks, artillery and aviation".

"Active combat is currently underway. The Armenian Army has launched a counterattack… There are victims on both sides but the opposing side has sustained huge losses in manpower and equipment, a [Azerbaijani] helicopter has been shot down," the Armenian Defense Ministry's spokesperson Artsrun Hovhannisyan said on Facebook.

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in response that "the information about the downed helicopter was absolute lie and all vehicles were in place. It was another provocation on the part of Armenia".



The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan began in 1988, after the predominantly Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous region announced its secession from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. Nagorno-Karabakh proclaimed its independence in 1991, prompting a war that lasted until a Russia-brokered ceasefire was signed in 1994.

"The Armenian Defense Ministry strongly condemns the unprecedentedly aggressive and irresponsible decision of Azerbaijani government to begin military operations, and officially declares that the continuation of those operations can lead to unpredictable results for Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani government bears the full responsibility for unprecedented escalation of situation at NK-Azerbaijan troops contact line," the Armeinian Defense Ministry said as quoted by Mediamax news agency.

http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160402/1037362816/armenia-azerbaijan-karabakh-violent.html#ixzz44eMFeDzo

[magnific61]

Seems like Aliyev is trying to divert attention from the worsening economy, by attacking the Karabakh forces. Azerbaijan has seen its oil revenues decline by as much as 75%, and mass layoffs are starting to occur in the oil rigs and natural gas fields. A war with the Armenes will help Aliyev to declare a state of emergency, and remain as the president until the economy improves.

How it can be possible if Armenia attacks first?
Dog does't bite dog! Therefore Russia will be beside of Armenia in conflict.

[galdur]

Armenian President Says 18 Soldiers Dead in Nagorno-Karabakh Clashes

Sputnik International  4:50 pm

According to the Armenian president, 18 Armenian service members died and 35 were injured in clashes with Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

[bryant.coleman]

Time to teach these pro-ISIS Azeri pigs a lesson once more. Seems like they have forgotten the drubbing which they received at the hands of the Armenes 23 years ago. This time the Armenians will conquer Baku, and will kick out the Azeri goatfuckers to Ankara. If Turkey invades Armenia, then Russia will join the battle and beat the shit out of the Turks.

Latest update: 12-year-old RNK civilian Vaghinak Grigoryan was killed during the Azeri shelling on residential areas near Stepankert.

[galdur]

Stepanakert is a familiar name from the news of the nineties. It suffered immense damage from incessant Azeri bombardment.

[Slowturtleinc]

Its a area of the world I really do not know much about other than the CIA was quite active there along the border of Turkey and Iran in the seventies with drunk agents. So goes the story my mom tells me about taking the hippie trail during that time.

[galdur]

It´s in the thick of things, especially nowadays what with the war going on nearby and tensions between Russia and Turkey and of course this simmering dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It´s definitely a complicated game.