It started: Anti-terrorist operation is launched. Population is urgently warned VIDEO

It started: Anti-terrorist operation is launched. Population is urgently warned VIDEO

Information about the launched "anti-terrorist operation" was announced by the Ministry of Defense of the Republic.

Azerbaijani media reports that Baku is closing the country's airspace to Armenia.

As stated, these measures were taken due to the systematic shelling of the Armed Forces of Armenia, as well as due to the continued mining of the territory.

Air raid sirens sound in the capital of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Stepanakert.

Azerbaijani media reports that Baku is closing the country's airspace to Armenia.

As they announced in Baku, the army is carrying out attacks with high-precision weapons on the front line and in depth, on the positions of units of the Armenian armed forces and military facilities.

It is noted that "civilian population and civilian infrastructure are not targets". The command of the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation and the leadership of the Turkish-Russian monitoring center were informed about the ongoing activities, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan announced. Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan announced the beginning of an anti-terrorist operation against illegal armed formations in the part of Karabakh under the control of the Russian peacekeeping contingent.

It is especially emphasized that only the positions of the Armenian army are struck, populated areas and infrastructure facilities are not shelled.

"The systematic shelling of the positions of the Azerbaijani army by the Armenian armed forces in the Karabakh region, the continued mining of our territories, the engineering improvement of combat positions, as well as the increase in the number of trenches and dugouts in the last few months have caused even greater tension," the statement said.

There was also strengthening of combat positions with manpower, armored vehicles, artillery and other firepower, bringing units to a high degree of combat readiness, creating additional units for mobilization, expanding reconnaissance activities towards units of the Azerbaijan Army, penetrating deep into our positions. to minimize cleared territories and civilian roads again for sabotage and terrorist purposes. On September 19, on the Ahmedbeyli-Fizuli-Shusha highway, a mine pre-planted for terrorist purposes by reconnaissance-sabotage groups of the Armenian Armed Forces in the Karabakh Economic Region of Azerbaijan killed civilians and disabled a State Road Agency vehicle of Azerbaijan.

On the same day, a vehicle carrying internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was detonated by a reconnaissance-sabotage group of the armed forces of Armenia, killing and injuring our soldiers.

Such facts are the continuation of the purposeful and systematic terrorist policy of Armenia against Azerbaijan.

SMS warning messages sent to the population

Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan has repeatedly stated that the continued presence of Armenian armed forces formations in the economic region of Karabakh in Azerbaijan, in violation of the provisions of the Trilateral Declaration signed on November 10, 2020, poses a serious threat to peace and stability in the region.

With the aim of ensuring the provisions of the Trilateral Declaration, suppressing major provocations in the economic region of Karabakh, disarming and withdrawing the formations of the Armenian armed forces from our territories, neutralizing their military infrastructure, ensuring the safety of civilians returning to the territories freed from occupation, civil servants engaged in construction work and reconstruction of our military personnel, as well as the establishment of the constitutional order of the Republic of Azerbaijan, anti-terrorist operations in the region began. As part of the measures, the positions of the formations of the armed forces of Armenia, their long-term firing points, as well as military assets and objects of military purpose are put out of use with high-precision weapons on the front line and in depth. We reiterate that the civilian population and civilian infrastructure are not targets, only legitimate military targets are withdrawn from operation.

The command of the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation and the leadership of the Turkish-Russian monitoring center were informed about the activities, according to the statement of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan. In an interview with Politico, Hikmet Hadjiyev, the foreign policy adviser to the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, said that "the goal is to neutralize the military infrastructure" and added that text messages were sent to the local Armenian population warning of "anti-terrorist operations".

"They were asked to stay away from legitimate military targets," Hadjiev said.

Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a bloody war over Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020. A Russian-brokered ceasefire deal has since collapsed, with Azerbaijani forces taking control of the only way in or out — blocking humanitarian aid and prompting warnings of "ethnic cleansing." As tensions with Yerevan escalate, the defense ministry says Armenian firing points, combat assets and military facilities are being targeted.

"As part of the measures, high-precision weapons disable positions on the front line and deep, long-term firing points of units of the armed forces of Armenia, as well as combat assets and military facilities," added the statement of the Ministry of Defense.

An AFP reporter said the explosions were heard in the regional capital, known as Stepanakert among Armenians and Khankendi in Azerbaijani. The announcement came hours after the country's foreign ministry said at least six people were killed in two separate accidents in Azerbaijan's Khojavend district, allegedly due to mines planted by Armenian security forces.

The region has long been at the center of tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia, leading to two wars for its control. As of today, the region is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but is mostly inhabited by ethnic Armenians.

Why now?

The last large-scale conflict broke out in 2020 and lasted six weeks before a Russian-brokered ceasefire. With the armistice, Armenia ceded parts of the territory it had controlled since the 1990s.

The two sides have since failed to reach a lasting peace settlement despite mediation efforts by the European Union, the United States and Russia. Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of triggering a months-long humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh after Baku blocked the only road linking the mountainous region to Armenia last year. It is called the Lachin Corridor, and Russian peacekeeping forces control it.

On Monday, trucks loaded with humanitarian aid entered Nagorno-Karabakh after Armenian separatists and the central government agreed to use roads linking it to Armenia and Azerbaijan, according to Baku.