Azerbaijan claims it’s seized key Nagorno-Karabakh town of Shusha, but Armenia says there’s still heavy fighting
Azerbaijani forces have captured the strategic town of Shusha in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev, has announced. Armenia immediately denied this, saying the fighting was ongoing.
“Today, the Azerbaijani flag is being flown in Shusha. It is possibly the happiest day of my life,” Aliyev said on Sunday, as quoted by local media. “Shusha is ours! Karabakh is Azerbaijan!” he added.
Aliyev’s comments were followed by a statement by the country’s defense ministry, which said that the town “has been liberated from Armenian occupation after more than 28 years.”
Baku's claims about the seizure of the town were quickly disputed by Yerevan. “The battles in Shushi continue, wait and believe in our troops,” Armenian defense ministry spokesperson Artsrun Hovhannisyan wrote on social media, calling the town by its Armenian name.
Armenian military press secretary Shushan Stepanyan had earlier reported “the most ferocious combat” around Shusha as Azerbaijani troops were trying to advance on the town.
Shusha, the second largest town in the region, is located just 10km (six miles) south of Nagorno-Karabakh’s largest city and de-facto capital Stepanakert. Taking Shusha would leave Stepanakert exposed to Azerbaijani offensives.
The heavy fighting in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is predominantly populated by ethnic Armenians, broke out on September 27 and has led to multiple military and civilian casualties on both sides. Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of starting new rounds of hostilities, and have repeatedly blamed one another for striking civilian targets.
The region has remained closely allied with Armenia after it broke away from Azerbaijan during a bloody war in the early 1990s. Baku considers the lands to be “occupied” and has been calling for an end of Armenia's “occupation.” While Yerevan has backed the region for years, it has stopped short of formally recognizing its independence.
Both sides are refusing to lay down arms, each accusing the other of unwillingness to seek a compromise or to make concessions. All international efforts to broker a ceasefire so far have failed.
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