By Josh Friedman.YEREVAN, Armenia – As the world slowly shifts its attention away from the United States election, a conflict on the eastern edge of Europe that has escalated into an almost 45-day war is nearing a tipping point. .Though the current Nagorno-Karabakh war has garnered relatively little focus globally, it has impacted places as far away as the Western U.S. and Canada and simultaneously appears to signal a changing balance of power in a region where continents converge..In the restive Caucasus Mountains, Azerbaijan’s troops are advancing against Armenian forces in an attempt to claim or reclaim Nagorno-Karabakh, a swathe of territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but controlled by ethnic Armenians since an early 1990s war that followed the breakup of the Soviet Union..The current war’s death toll is in the low thousands; at least tens of thousands of people are displaced; and more is at stake than who controls Nagorno-Karabakh, which Armenians call Artsakh. As Azeri forces advance with the apparent aid of Syrian mercenaries and the backing of Turkish drones and military support, Turkey’s influence in the region is on the rise. On the other hand, Russia, which has a military alliance with Armenia, stands accused of having a retreating presence in its own backyard or of punishing the current Armenian government for a more western orientation than past administrations in Yerevan..Fighting in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, which began on Sept. 27, has inflicted a great deal of pain on civilians. In Davit Bek, a village located within Armenia, but just across the international border from Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian man described suffering a shrapnel wound to his shoulder. On Oct. 29, small caliber rockets hit the house of Davit Bek resident Mnatsakan Mnatsakanyan, shrapnel went flying in several directions and one piece hit him in the back of the shoulder, Mnatsakanyan said..“I removed the shrapnel from my own shoulder because I didn’t want to bother the doctors in Kapan, the next largest town over, who were all busy with wounded soldiers” Mnatsakanyan said. “I grabbed a tool from my workshop and pulled out the shrapnel, which was a little more than two inches long. And then I went over to the hospital to have it sewn surgically. They took an X-ray and they noticed there was a little piece of it still in there. I said it was fine. They disinfected it and just closed up the wound.”.Mnatsakanyan showed shattered glass and other damage to both his house and an adjacent home he owns that was sustained during the Oct. 29 rocket attack. Separately, a second-floor bedroom inside Mnatsakanyan’s house has shrapnel shell holes he said were from the 1990s Nagorno-Karabakh war.. Mountain-passMountain pass .On Nov. 1, the sound of artillery fire was nearly constant in Davit Bek. Inside Mnatsakanyan’s living room, windows vibrated to cross-border artillery fire about 1-3 kilometers away. Meanwhile, the television set showed Donald Trump and Joe Biden speaking. Though Trump and Biden could be seen and heard in Mnatsakanyan’s living room, the United States seemed a world away..A day later, the Armenian government reported one civilian was killed and two were wounded when Davit Bek again came under fire..The devastation has been much more severe in Nagorno-Karabakh, particularly in the de facto capital of Stepanakert, known in Azerbaijani as Khankendi. Azeri bombardment has killed civilians, destroyed houses and allegedly damaged an historic church and a maternity hospital in the contested territory. In Azerbaijan proper, houses have been destroyed and civilians have died in strikes by ethnic Armenians on the cities of Ganja and Barda. Independent observers have accused both sides of using cluster munitions in civilian areas..On Sunday, Azerbaijan’s longtime leader, President Ilham Aliyev, announced the capture of the key town of Shusha, or Shushi in Armenian. Aliyev’s announcement resulted in street celebrations in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan..Shusha, home to both Armenian churches and Azeri mosques, is the second largest city in Nagorno-Karabakh and is the historic capital of Artsakh, once a province of the Kingdom of Armenia. The Armenian government, as well as the internationally unrecognized Republic of Artsakh, dispute Azerbaijan’s claim it now controls Shusha. Armenians say they still control the town. . Farmers-truck-1 .Despite the conflicting statements on the status of Shusha, it is clear territory has changed hands in the current war. Azerbaijan has taken control of villages and parts of territory in Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent districts that, prior to the war, had been controlled by ethnic Armenians. The forces of Armenia and the separatist Artsakh government remain in control of Stepanakert, though many civilians have fled the city..While Azeri troops have advanced to Shusha and have also threatened the critical Lachin Corridor linking Armenia to Stepanakert, they may face an uphill battle in their attempt to reclaim all of the disputed territory. Winter weather is arriving, which could limit the effectiveness of Azerbaijan’s drones and aerial assault. Military analysts describe Azerbaijan’s use of Turkish, as well as Israeli, drones as a game changer in the conflict. Azerbaijan has released videos of its drone arsenal taking out Armenian troops and military hardware. In turn, Canada’s government has responded to pressure over arms shipments by suspending the export of drone parts to Turkey..As Azerbaijan celebrates its disputed victory, the Armenian side says it has seasoned fighters capable of enduring long battles and harsh weather conditions, as they did in the 1990s, when Armenia prevailed. Armenia’s fighters have come to the conflict not just from its own military and reserve ranks, as well as from those of the Artsakh Defence Army, but also from the Armenian diaspora. Diaspora members have traveled to Armenia from Southern California, Canada and locations around the world to join the war effort, with some heading to the front line. Southern California, home to one of the largest populations of Armenians worldwide, has also seen weeks of large demonstrations by Armenian-Americans..Thus far, three ceasefires — one each negotiated by France, Russia and the U.S. — have failed. The conflict is far from resolved and populations on both sides appear defiant in their calls to win the war. It remains to be seen whether conditions could soon emerge for a truce that actually holds, at least for more than a matter of hours or minutes.
By Josh Friedman.YEREVAN, Armenia – As the world slowly shifts its attention away from the United States election, a conflict on the eastern edge of Europe that has escalated into an almost 45-day war is nearing a tipping point. .Though the current Nagorno-Karabakh war has garnered relatively little focus globally, it has impacted places as far away as the Western U.S. and Canada and simultaneously appears to signal a changing balance of power in a region where continents converge..In the restive Caucasus Mountains, Azerbaijan’s troops are advancing against Armenian forces in an attempt to claim or reclaim Nagorno-Karabakh, a swathe of territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but controlled by ethnic Armenians since an early 1990s war that followed the breakup of the Soviet Union..The current war’s death toll is in the low thousands; at least tens of thousands of people are displaced; and more is at stake than who controls Nagorno-Karabakh, which Armenians call Artsakh. As Azeri forces advance with the apparent aid of Syrian mercenaries and the backing of Turkish drones and military support, Turkey’s influence in the region is on the rise. On the other hand, Russia, which has a military alliance with Armenia, stands accused of having a retreating presence in its own backyard or of punishing the current Armenian government for a more western orientation than past administrations in Yerevan..Fighting in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, which began on Sept. 27, has inflicted a great deal of pain on civilians. In Davit Bek, a village located within Armenia, but just across the international border from Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian man described suffering a shrapnel wound to his shoulder. On Oct. 29, small caliber rockets hit the house of Davit Bek resident Mnatsakan Mnatsakanyan, shrapnel went flying in several directions and one piece hit him in the back of the shoulder, Mnatsakanyan said..“I removed the shrapnel from my own shoulder because I didn’t want to bother the doctors in Kapan, the next largest town over, who were all busy with wounded soldiers” Mnatsakanyan said. “I grabbed a tool from my workshop and pulled out the shrapnel, which was a little more than two inches long. And then I went over to the hospital to have it sewn surgically. They took an X-ray and they noticed there was a little piece of it still in there. I said it was fine. They disinfected it and just closed up the wound.”.Mnatsakanyan showed shattered glass and other damage to both his house and an adjacent home he owns that was sustained during the Oct. 29 rocket attack. Separately, a second-floor bedroom inside Mnatsakanyan’s house has shrapnel shell holes he said were from the 1990s Nagorno-Karabakh war.. Mountain-passMountain pass .On Nov. 1, the sound of artillery fire was nearly constant in Davit Bek. Inside Mnatsakanyan’s living room, windows vibrated to cross-border artillery fire about 1-3 kilometers away. Meanwhile, the television set showed Donald Trump and Joe Biden speaking. Though Trump and Biden could be seen and heard in Mnatsakanyan’s living room, the United States seemed a world away..A day later, the Armenian government reported one civilian was killed and two were wounded when Davit Bek again came under fire..The devastation has been much more severe in Nagorno-Karabakh, particularly in the de facto capital of Stepanakert, known in Azerbaijani as Khankendi. Azeri bombardment has killed civilians, destroyed houses and allegedly damaged an historic church and a maternity hospital in the contested territory. In Azerbaijan proper, houses have been destroyed and civilians have died in strikes by ethnic Armenians on the cities of Ganja and Barda. Independent observers have accused both sides of using cluster munitions in civilian areas..On Sunday, Azerbaijan’s longtime leader, President Ilham Aliyev, announced the capture of the key town of Shusha, or Shushi in Armenian. Aliyev’s announcement resulted in street celebrations in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan..Shusha, home to both Armenian churches and Azeri mosques, is the second largest city in Nagorno-Karabakh and is the historic capital of Artsakh, once a province of the Kingdom of Armenia. The Armenian government, as well as the internationally unrecognized Republic of Artsakh, dispute Azerbaijan’s claim it now controls Shusha. Armenians say they still control the town. . Farmers-truck-1 .Despite the conflicting statements on the status of Shusha, it is clear territory has changed hands in the current war. Azerbaijan has taken control of villages and parts of territory in Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent districts that, prior to the war, had been controlled by ethnic Armenians. The forces of Armenia and the separatist Artsakh government remain in control of Stepanakert, though many civilians have fled the city..While Azeri troops have advanced to Shusha and have also threatened the critical Lachin Corridor linking Armenia to Stepanakert, they may face an uphill battle in their attempt to reclaim all of the disputed territory. Winter weather is arriving, which could limit the effectiveness of Azerbaijan’s drones and aerial assault. Military analysts describe Azerbaijan’s use of Turkish, as well as Israeli, drones as a game changer in the conflict. Azerbaijan has released videos of its drone arsenal taking out Armenian troops and military hardware. In turn, Canada’s government has responded to pressure over arms shipments by suspending the export of drone parts to Turkey..As Azerbaijan celebrates its disputed victory, the Armenian side says it has seasoned fighters capable of enduring long battles and harsh weather conditions, as they did in the 1990s, when Armenia prevailed. Armenia’s fighters have come to the conflict not just from its own military and reserve ranks, as well as from those of the Artsakh Defence Army, but also from the Armenian diaspora. Diaspora members have traveled to Armenia from Southern California, Canada and locations around the world to join the war effort, with some heading to the front line. Southern California, home to one of the largest populations of Armenians worldwide, has also seen weeks of large demonstrations by Armenian-Americans..Thus far, three ceasefires — one each negotiated by France, Russia and the U.S. — have failed. The conflict is far from resolved and populations on both sides appear defiant in their calls to win the war. It remains to be seen whether conditions could soon emerge for a truce that actually holds, at least for more than a matter of hours or minutes.
