Memo

Yerevan, 1 October 2020

As of October 1, Azerbaijan’s large-scale aggression against Artsakh is ongoing. Early in the morning Azerbaijani armed forces resumed large-scale aerial, missile and land attacks along the entire line of contact between Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and Azerbaijan.

On the fifth day of aggression Azerbaijani air forces bombarded the civilian settlements and infrastructures in Martuni and Hadrut regions of Artsakh which has resulted in injuries among reporters of “Le Monde” (citizens of France), “Armenia TV” and “24news.am” media outlets. The reporter of “Le Monde” was wounded in an artillery strike by the Azerbaijani military in the Martuni town hall.

According to the report of Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Artsakh from September 27 to 30 September overall 7 civilians were killed, among them a little girl, a 24-year-old and 65-year-old men, four women – 59, 61, 63 and 79-year-old. The infant, the women and a man were killed at the yards of their houses while the young man was shot on his way to a village. In total 31 civilians (7 female and 24 male) suffered severe injuries.

The number of victims of armed forces of Artsakh is being finalized. The Defence Army of Artsakh with strong determination is repelling the attacks of the Azerbaijani armed forces along the entire line of contact.

On September 30, Azerbaijan handed the command of an offensive air operation against the Republic of Artsakh to the Turkish Air Force. Since 10 A.M. (local time) two Turkish F-16 fighters together with Azerbaijani SU-25 fighters and Turkish Bayraktar UAVs have been taking off from Kyurdamir Air Base in Azerbaijan. Operating at a high latitude they were striking civilian settlements and infrastructures in Hadrut and Martuni regions.
This operation is controlled by a distant E7-T air force command post in the Erzerum-Kars area in Turkey. In addition, a UAV Turkish command post is located at a certain distance from the borders of the Hadrut region. It coordinates the attacks of Azerbaijani jets.
On October 1, Artsakh's Defense Army reported that the majority of Azerbaijan’s casualties among military personnel in various areas of the line of contact are members of Azerbaijan’s national minorities such as Lezgins and Talysh. In an interview Talysh publicist Zabil Mageramov noted that in Azerbaijan, members of national minorities are the ones mainly sent to the frontline. According to him, 50 percent of the casualties among military personnel are Talysh. Mageramov labeled Azerbaijan actions as " Genocide of the Talysh people".

Hence, Azerbaijan perpetrates premediated ethnic cleansing against its national minorities. This lies in the logic of Azerbaijani state-led policy of ethnic cleansing and other mass atrocities.

Artsakh's Defense Army also reported that syringes were found in the pockets of all killed Azerbaijani servicemen, thus, Azerbaijan forces its soldiers to take drugs.

International community urged to halt hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh and called on the external actors to refrain from escalating the conflict.

On September 30, the Ministry of Foreign affairs of Russia issued a statement on the movement of foreign mercenaries to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. “According to incoming reports, militants from illegal armed units are being moved to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone from Syria and Libya to take a direct part in the hostilities. We are seriously concerned about this development that not only escalates tensions in the conflict zone but also creates long-term security threats for all countries in the region. We urge the leaders of the interested states to take effective measures to prevent the use of foreign terrorists and mercenaries in the conflict, and we call for their immediate withdrawal from the region.

On September 30, the President of France Emmanuel Macron urged to halt hostilities in NK and reiterated his commitment to reaching a negotiated, lasting settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He added that France remains extremely concerned about the bellicose comments of Turkey.

On October 1, Spokesman of the Foreign Ministry of Iran Saeed Khatibzadeh said that Iran will not allow terrorist groups to turn the areas adjacent to the northern borders of the country into a threat to their national security.
On October 1, the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries, the Presdient of Russia Vladimir Putin, the President of US Donald Trump and the President of France Emmanuel Macron condemned in the strongest terms the escalation of violence on the line of contact in the Nagorno- Karabakh conflict zone.

“We regret the loss of lives and express our condolences to the families of those killed and wounded.
We call for an immediate cessation of hostilities between the armed forces of the parties involved.