Now we can add “a major war” to the list of things that have happened in 2020
While almost everyone’s attention was diverted, a major war erupted on the other side of the world. It has been more than a week since Azerbaijan launched their invasion of Nagorno-Karabakh, although the mainstream media in the western world will never use the word “invasion” to describe what is happening. At most, they will use terms such as “attack” or “offensive”, but without a doubt what is taking place is an invasion. The population of Nagorno-Karabakh is primarily made up of Armenians, and the region has been self-governing since separatists won an extremely violent war against Azerbaijan in 1994 in which tens of thousands of people died. Now Azerbaijan is attempting to reassert control over Nagorno-Karabakh, and neighboring Armenia has stepped up to help defend Nagorno-Karabakh. Unfortunately, this could easily escalate into a much wider war. Russia has a defense pact with Armenia and a military base inside their territory, Iran has threatened to get involved in the conflict, and Turkey has already sent proxy forces into the region to aid the offensive by Azerbaijan.
Following days of vicious fighting, over the weekend the president of Azerbaijan claimed that his forces had captured the critically important town of Madagiz…
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said late Saturday that his forces “raised the flag” over the strategic town of Madagiz and had taken several villages.
The Armenian Defense Ministry said separatist forces in Karabakh had fended off a large Azerbaijani attack, and spokesperson Shushan Stepanian pointed to intense fighting “along the entire front line” and said Armenian forces had shot down three Azerbaijani planes.
And it is also being reported that Azerbaijan is using cluster munitions to bomb the Nagorno-Karabakh capital of Stepanakert…
The separatists’ foreign ministry said on Monday that shelling of Stepanakert had resumed at 6.30am (0230 GMT), with four shells hitting the city. Residents had spent the weekend cramming into underground shelters and many are leaving.
It released video footage of repeated bursts of heavy shelling and debris from seriously damaged blocks of flats, claiming Azerbaijan had used cluster munitions, which are banned by international humanitarian law.