WP: 52 militants killed in Karabakh

1 Nagorno-Karabakh

«The Washington Post» reported that at least 52 Syrian mercenaries were killed during the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Washington Post noted that the bodies of the killed mercenaries were handed over to their relatives on the Syrian-Turkish border earlier this month. «The Washington Post» quoted the relatives of the dead men who reported that they were »mercenaries, recruited by the pro-Turkish armed groups in Syria to fight against Armenia on the side of Azerbaijan». They were, reportedly, promised a monthly salary. The mercenaries arrived to Azerbaijan from the southern part of Turkey.

2 Azerbaijan

The Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated during an interview to the French TV channel «France 24» that no mercenaries are fighting on the side of Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. «More than 2 weeks have passed since the start of the clash. No country has provided us with any evidence on this matter. I believe that if there is no evidence, then the rumors should stay in the past» — Ilham Aliyev stated and added that Azerbaijan has no need to use mercenaries. He denied once again the allegations of the Turkish military participation in the hostilities in the conflict zone. «Turkey doesn’t participate in the process in any way, except for the political actions. There are no Turkish troops in there» — the President of Azerbaijan concluded.

3 Syria

The deputy head of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of the Warring Parties in Syria, Rear-Admiral Alexander Grinkevich, announced that 4 terrorists died as a result of the explosion of a warehouse with ammo and chlorine, which the terrorists were preparing for a provocation in Syria. Some citizens of Europe and North Africa died from the explosion as well. It was reported that «on 11th of October, near the village of Maaret al-Ikhuan, 13 km north to the city of Idlib, there was an explosion of a warehouse with ammo and chlorine-containing substances, prepared by the terrorists for chemical provocations». Alexander Grinkevich called on the commanders of the illegal armed groups to abandon armed provocations, and take the path of peaceful settlement of the situation in the areas under their control.

4 Kyrgyzstan

The press service of the President of Kyrgyzstan reported that Sooronbai Jeenbekov announced his resignation. «I don’t hold on to power. I don’t want to be remembered in the history of Kyrgyzstan as a president who shed blood and shot at his own citizens. I made the decision to resign» — the message on the presidential website stated. Sooronbai Jeenbekov also called on the new prime minister of the republic, Sadir Japarov, and other politicians, to withdraw their followers from Bishkek and «return to a peaceful life.»

5 Russia — Netherlands

Russia announced its withdrawal from the consultation group with Australia and the Netherlands. The group was made to investigate the crash of the Malaysian Airlines plane in Ukraine back in 2014. The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday that Russia intends to «continue the cooperation with the competent authorities of the Netherlands, including in the matters of the study of the reason why Ukraine didn’t close the airspace for the flights of civilian aircraft over the zone of an armed conflict over Donbas». Russia will carry out this interaction «in other formats». The Dutch Foreign Minister stated that the Netherlands «deeply regret» the Russian decision.