Nagorno-Karabakh. Combat actions

1 Azerbaijan

The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan reported that on Thursday night, the Azerbaijani forces performed artillery strikes against the Armenian positions in Nagorno-Karabakh. The ministry underlined that the Azerbaijani military performed «artillery strikes against the positions of the Armenian forces, deployed in the occupied territories».

2 Nagorno-Karabakh

The press service of the Defense Ministry of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic reported that the defense forces of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic shot down an Azerbaijani Air Force helicopter in the southern section of the contact line. The helicopter crash-landed in Iran. «The Artsakh Ministry of Defense declares that the incident was unintentional. Unfortunately, such cases are inevitable, since the military operations are taking place very close to the Iranian border» — the message stated. The Armenian Defense Ministry stated that on Thursday, the air defense forces of the Karabakh defense army shot down 3 airplanes, 2 helicopters, and 6 UAVs of the Azerbaijan Air Force. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry denied the reports of Armenia about the downed planes and helicopters of the Azerbaijani Air Force. «The reports from the Armenian side that, allegedly, 3 airplanes, 2 helicopters, and 6 UAVs of the Azerbaijani Air Force were shot down today are false. No aviation assets of the Azerbaijani Air Force took off today at all» — the statement concluded.

3 Azerbaijan

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry denied the reports about the transfer of mercenaries from Syria to Azerbaijan. «Various sources claim that several hundred mercenaries were, allegedly, transferred to Azerbaijan. We strongly reject such allegations, and we underline that the Azerbaijani army does not need any outside forces to ensure our territorial integrity within the international borders» — the website of the Ministry stated and added that an informational campaign is being conducted against Baku. The ministry underlined that Azerbaijan has fully equipped and professional military forces. The reports about the involvement of mercenaries «aren’t simply illogical, but also — unconvincing from a military-technical point of view».

4 Russia — The USA — France

The presidents of Russia, the USA, and France — Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron, made a joint statement on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. They strongly condemned the escalation of violence, they called for an immediate end of the hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh, and they also called on the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan »to immediately take on the commitments in good faith, and, without any preconditions, resume the negotiations on the settlement, with an aid from of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs”. The presidents also expressed their condolences to the families of those who were killed in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

5 Turkey

During his speech in the Turkish parliament, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized the calls from the OSCE Minsk Group for a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh. «The Minsk group, made of the USA, Russia, and France, hasn’t been able to resolve the Karabakh issue for 30 years. Today they are trying to find a way for a ceasefire during the current negative events, and it is unacceptable. If there is any real desire to achieve a solution of the problem — then the invaders should leave those territories. Only in such way a solution will be found» — Erdogan explained.

6 Iraq

The ‘Al Sumaria’ TV reported that the district around the airport of Erbil city, which is the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, came under rocket fire. One of the rockets hit near the HQ of the Iranian opposition party. The second rocket hit a farm field, which set the dry grass on fire. The place where the third rocket hit wasn’t reported. After the attack — the highway connecting Erbil with Mosul was completely blocked. It was noted that the coalition forces, stationed at the American military base in Erbil, weren’t injured. Constantine Reztsov, specially for ANNA NEWS.