2010 Mardakert clashes

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2010 Mardakert clashes
Part of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
Date18–19 June; 1 September 2010
Location
Belligerents
Flag of Artsakh.svg  Nagorno-Karabakh [1]
Flag of Armenia.svg  Armenia
Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan
Strength
June: 140+
September: Unknown
June: 1 (Mubariz Ibrahimov)
September: Unknown
Casualties and losses
June: Disputed; 4-45-135-140 [2]
September: 1 wounded (per Armenian) [3]
3 dead (Azerbaijani claim) [3]
June: 1 dead (Mubariz Ibrahimov) [1]
September: 1 dead (per Azerbaijani) [3]
2 dead (Armenian claim) [3] [4]

The 2010 Mardakert clashes were a series of violations of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War ceasefire. They took place across the line of contact dividing Azerbaijan and the ethnic Armenian military forces of the unrecognized but de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Both sides accused the other of violating the ceasefire regime. These were the worst violations of the cease fire (which has been in place since 1994) in two years and left Armenian forces with the heaviest casualties since the Mardakert clashes of March 2008. [5]

Contents

June incident

The incident occurred near the village of Chayli, located in the province of Mardakert/Tartar in Nagorno-Karabakh on June 18–19. Warrant officer Mubariz Ibrahimov, wrote a letter at around 11.30 PM on June 18, 2010, [6] and started to move towards the Nagorno-Karabakh Line of Contact without informing anyone in the unit he was serving in. With the darkness of the night and his camouflage, he passed through a kilometer (0.62 mi) mined area alone [7] and raided the Armenian military outpost in the then-occupied Chayli village of Terter region. [8] [9] Here, Ibrahimov fought the Armenian forces for five hours using the ammunition at the military station and died around 5 AM. [8] According to numerous sources, he killed 45 [8] [10] [11] [12] or 140 [13] [14] Armenian soldiers. Vladimir Putin had said in a speech that Ibrahimov had fought and killed 135 Armenian soldiers. [15] However, according to the Armenian Government, Ibrahimov killed 4 Armenian soldiers [16] and injured 4. [17]

Mübariz's father said that when it was understood that Mübariz was missing from his unit, he received a call early in the morning about the incident and was asked whether his son had come home and that he had taken many weapons and ammunition and left the unit he was stationed in. His father said this in his answer: "I know my son, go towards the border." [18]

In the letter of Ibrahimov wrote before leaving his unit and attacking the Armenian Outpost he wrote:

Letter to my father and mother. My dear father and mother. Do not worry about me. Hopefully we will meet in heaven. Pray a lot for me. My heart can no longer bear the difficult days of my homeland. I have to do this for God's sake. At least my heart will calm down. I hope I will go against these dishonorable people until I become a martyr. If I become a martyr, do not cry, on the contrary, be happy that I have risen to that level. Do not neglect your worship to Allah. Give lots of charity.

As one of the descendants of the prophet, I must do this.

Allah is great. Thank you homeland.

Forgive your rights.

Your son, Mubariz.

İbrahimov Mübariz [19] [20]

According to the Defense Ministry of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, The Armenian Outpost near Chayli came under a surprise attack by a Azerbaijani sabotage unit at about 11:30 PM on June 18 [21] [22] and the body of Azerbaijani Warrant Officer Mubariz Ibrahimov was found dead inside the Armenian Military Outpost in Chayli. [2] Armenian forces retaliated the next day by launching an attack near Fizuli on June 20–21, killing one Azerbaijani serviceman. [5] Azerbaijani forces claimed to have repelled the attack and inflicted further casualties on the Armenians.

In the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, The Azerbaijani Military captured the Armenian outpost Mubariz was killed in and erected the Azerbaijani Flag [23]

Military analysis

Richard Giragosian, the director of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies and a former defense analyst for Jane's , described the intrusion as "either a test on Armenian response or a sign of lack of command and discipline in the Azerbaijani military." [24] He described it as "more professional and more deadly than previous such incursions" and had been planned days in advance. [5] The fact that the attack began with an Azerbaijani sniper inflicting a fatal head wound on an Armenian soldier was further evidence of this, he said. [5]

Reaction

Armenia

President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan called the skirmish an "Azeri provocation," which took place hours after he had met his counterpart, Ilham Aliyev for peace talks regarding the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. [25]

Azerbaijan

Officials in Azerbaijan dismissed the Armenians' claim. [1] The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said it was the Armenians who had fired at its forces using automatic rifles and machine guns. [5] Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Elkhan Polukhov stated that the skirmish was a "direct consequence of Armenia's failure to withdraw from occupied Azerbaijani territory." [5]

Shortly after the incident, on July 22, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev conferred Mubariz Ibrahimov with the title of National Hero of Azerbaijan for his services to the state while resisting attacks of Armenian forces. [26] Azerbaijani sources have since claimed that Ibrahimov was single-handedly responsible for killing all four of the Armenian soldiers and wounding the five others. They have speculated that his actions were voluntary and the result of personal a desire to take vengeance against the enemy. [26]

Reaction in the world

In his confirmation hearings as the United States' ambassador to Azerbaijan in July 2010, Matthew Bryza confirmed that the attack was initiated by the Azerbaijani side, stating "There was an Azerbaijani move across the line of contact, Armenia responded, resulting in deaths." [27]

The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group condemned the skirmish and stated that it was "an unacceptable violation of the 1994 Cease-Fire Agreement and...contrary to the stated commitment of the sides to refrain from the use of force or the threat of the use of force." The use of military force at this juncture "can only be seen as an attempt to damage the peace process." [28]

September incident

On September 1, 2010, on the eve of Dmitry Medvedev's visit to Azerbaijan, another skirmish took place near Jraberd, Mardakert/Tartar Rayon. Azerbaijan announced that two Azeris and three Armenians were killed, while Armenia claimed to have killed 4-7 Azeris at the cost of one wounded. One of the Azeris killed was Farid Ahmadov whose body, according to Azerbaijan, remained on the Armenian side of the frontlines. [29] Both sides blamed the other for starting the attack. [4] The Baku office of the International Red Cross appealed to the Armenian side requesting assistance in returning the bodies of both Ibrahimov and Ahmadov. The PACE resolution issued on October 6 also urged the Armenian side to return the bodies of both soldiers. [30]

The military authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh handed over the bodies of Ibrahimov and Ahmadov to Azerbaijan on November 6 2010. [31]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 "Armenian, Azerbaijani Clashes Continue In Karabakh." RFE/RL . June 22, 2010. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
  2. 1 2 Sanamyan, Emil. "Four Armenian Soldiers Killed in Karabakh Skirmish." Eurasia Review. June 20, 2010. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Several killed in Nagorno-Karabakh clash. BBC News. 1 September 2010. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  4. 1 2 Azerbaijan Claims Five Killed In Clash On Nagorno-Karabakh Border. RFE/RL. 1 September 2010. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "OSCE, EU Condemn Karabakh 'Armed Incident'". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 2010-06-24. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  6. "Bakıya yürüş etdilər". Azadlıq Radiosu. November 14, 2010 via www.azadliq.org.
  7. International Crisis Group 2011, p. 3.
  8. 1 2 3 "Mübariz İbrahimov kimdir? - Yeni Akit". archive.md. May 29, 2022.
  9. "Azeris Demand Soldier's Body Return". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. August 4, 2010 via www.rferl.org.
  10. "Tarihin gördüğü en iyi savaşçılarından: Mübariz İbrahimov'un şehadet yıl dönümü - QHA - Kırım Haber Ajansı". www.qha.com.tr.
  11. "Azerbaycan'ın milli kahramanı Mübariz İbrahimov'un şehit olduğu bölge işgalden kurtarıldı". Milliyet. October 4, 2020.
  12. "Efsane kahraman Mubariz İbrahimov'un şehit olduğu karakol işgalden kurtarıldı". Yeniçağ Gazetesi. October 5, 2020.
  13. Karasıoğlu 2016, p. 108.
  14. "IBRAHIMOV Mubariz Aghakarim оghlu – ASSOCIATION FOR CIVIL SOCIETY DEVELOPMENT IN AZERBAIJAN".
  15. "Putin Mübariz İbrahimov haqda nə dedi". newsaze.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016.
  16. "Documentary on Mubariz Ibrahimov's life to be made in Azerbaijan". news.am. June 19, 2024.
  17. "Один из раненых армянских солдат в крайне тяжелом состоянии". yerkramas.org. 2010-06-22. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  18. "Ölümündən 24 saat əvvəl - Mübariz İbrahimov haqqında veriliş". BiG.Az.
  19. "Şəhid Mübariz İbrahimovun son məktubu…". modern.az. Archived from the original on September 18, 2023.
  20. "Mübariz İbrahimovun son məktubu, xeberler". big.az. Archived from the original on September 18, 2023.
  21. "NKR DEFENSE MINISTRY STATEMENT | Politics | Lragir.am - Armenian Online". lragir.am. Archived from the original on 2012-03-08. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  22. "Один из раненых армянских солдат в крайне тяжелом состоянии". Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
  23. "Azerbaycan'ın Milli Kahramanı İbrahimov'un şehit olduğu işgal altındaki mevziye Azerbaycan bayrağı dikildi". www.aa.com.tr.
  24. "Four Armenian soldiers killed in Karabakh clash; Yerevan condemns Azeri "provocation" - Karabakh | ArmeniaNow.com". armenianow.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  25. Mkrtchyan, Hasmik, Lada Yevgrashina and Maria Kiselyova. "Four Armenians and one Azeri killed in Karabakh clash." Reuters. June 19, 2010. Retrieved June 19, 2010.
  26. 1 2 "News.Az - Mubariz Ibrahimov's heroic action receives high appraisal of the state". news.az. Archived from the original on 2010-07-26. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  27. Kucera, Joshua (2010-07-22). "Baku Envoy Nominee Faces Grilling During Confirmation Hearing". eurasianet.org.
  28. "OSCE Press release - OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs issue statement". osce.org. Archived from the original on 2010-06-26.
  29. "The Canadian Press: 2 Azerbaijani troops killed in border clash with Armenia over disputed Nagorno-Karabakh". google.com. Archived from the original on 2010-09-04.
  30. "Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly - The need to return the corpses of Azerbaijani soldiers to their state". assembly.coe.int. Archived from the original on 2010-10-08.
  31. Musayelian, Lusine (2010-11-08). "More Armenian, Azeri Bodies Swapped". «Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան (in Armenian). Retrieved 2024-06-19.

40°12′37″N46°48′33″E / 40.210278°N 46.809167°E / 40.210278; 46.809167

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