2012 Armenian–Azerbaijani border clashes

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2012 Armenian-Azeri border clashes
Part of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
Location Artsakh en.png
  Territory controlled by the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
  Claimed by the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic but controlled by Azerbaijan
Date25 April – 4 June 2012
(1 month, 1 week and 3 days)
Location
Armenian–Azeri border and line of contact, Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan
Belligerents
Flag of Armenia.svg  Armenia
Flag of Artsakh.svg  Nagorno-Karabakh
Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan
Commanders and leaders
Flag of Armenia.svg Serzh Sargsyan
Flag of Artsakh.svg Bako Sahakyan
Flag of Azerbaijan.svg Ilham Aliyev
Casualties and losses
Flag of Armenia.svg 3 soldiers killed, 6 wounded [1]
Flag of Artsakh.svg 1 soldier killed, 2 wounded [2]
Flag of Azerbaijan.svg 5 soldiers killed [1]
Several wounded

The 2012 border clashes between the armed forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan took place in early June. The clashes resulted in casualties on both sides.

Contents

Background

The two countries fought a war in the early 1990s over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, while tensions have recently escalated. Since the beginning of 2011, 63 people have been killed in skirmishes between Armenia and Azerbaijan. [3]

The most recent tensions have been concentrated along the section of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border that runs between Tavush Province and Qazakh Rayon and started in April with cross-border firing on unknown origin. [4]

Previously, it had been noted that Azerbaijan was increasing its defense spending with the goal of ending occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh following a US$1.6 billion purchase of military equipment from Israel after it had been largely kept out of other arms markets with the Armenia-Russia relations and Armenia-United States relations hampering their efforts to acquire arms. [5]

On June 2, in response to the reported wounding of a Nerkin Karmirarghbyur resident by gunfire from Azerbaijan hours after a scheduled OSCE monitoring visit, OSCE monitoring officials conducted a unilateral field monitoring mission in the Tavush region to investigate recent incidents along the line of contact at the villages of Aygepar, Moses and Nerkin Karmiraghbyur, and make photographic and video records of the traces of the shelling. [6]

Events

The first clashes occurred early on June 4, in which three Armenian soldiers were killed and six wounded near the villages of Berdavan and Chinari in Tavush Province. An Armenian Defense Ministry statement issued the same day said the soldiers had died while fighting back a cross-border incursion by Azerbaijani forces into the northern Tavush region during which "the enemy was repelled, suffering casualties." [7] [8]

The following day, four Azerbaijani soldiers were killed near Asagi Askipara, in the Qazakh Rayon of western Azerbaijan. An Armenian Defense Ministry statement said they had been part of a unit of 15 to 20 soldiers who had tried to infiltrate Armenian positions in the vicinity of Voskepar village in Tavish province. A separate shooting killed a fifth Azerbaijani soldier in the same district. [1] [9]

Initially, Azerbaijan refuted allegations of gunfire at the border or any Azerbaijani deaths and explained the incident involving deaths of three Armenian soldiers as a result of "internal disagreements within the Armenian army." [10] Azerbaijan's Defence Ministry later confirmed that the June 5 skirmish had taken place and had resulted in the death of five Azerbaijani soldiers, four of whom died during the confrontation, with a fifth killed later, shot from a distant position. Azerbaijan said that the fighting took place as a result of a subversive group from Armenia trying to penetrate into Azerbaijani territory at the village of Asagi Askipara. [11]

On June 6, according to Nagorno Karabakh's Defence Ministry, [2] Azeri soldiers attempted to infiltrate into Nagorno-Karabakh, near Horadiz. [12] One Karabakhi soldier was killed and two others were wounded. [2] Panorama reported shooting from the Azeri side the next day. [13]

Reaction

At the start of the incidents, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in Armenia as part of a visit to the three southern Caucasus states. [3] Both sides accused each other of a military diversion timed to coincide with her visit to the Caucasus. [10] In Armenia, on June 4 and after hearing of the June 4 deaths, Clinton stated at a press conference that "I am very concerned about the danger of escalation of tensions and the senseless deaths of young soldiers and innocent civilians. The use of force will not resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and therefore force must not be used." She said that she had told President Serzh Sarkisian she would make those points in Baku when there. [7] At the same press conference, Armenia's Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian stated "Azerbaijan is not satisfied by the fact that every day there are violations by Azerbaijanis on the line of contact of Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh. They are trying to transfer the tension, to escalate the situation onto the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan which greatly undermines the negotiation process, as well as threatens the regional stability. The responsibility for all possible consequences of such activities lies on the Azeri side." [14]

On June 6, after talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku, Clinton said that "the cycle of violence and retaliation must end." [15]

The U.S., Russian and French diplomats co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group commented saying;

Such senseless acts violate the commitment of the parties to refrain from the use of force and to seek a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and contradict the spirit of the January 23, 2012, joint statement of Presidents [Ilham] Aliyev, Sarkisian, and [Dmitry] Medvedev. [16]

Media

Speaking about why international bodies did not make statements "naming and shaming" whichever side started the violence, Thomas de Waal explained that there was no way for them to know due to the small number (six) of OSCE monitors in the field, and 20,000 soldiers on both sides. [3]

The Armenia media suggested that Azerbaijan's aim is to increase tension along the border so that Azerbaijan can accuse the OSCE Minsk Group of an inability to control the situation and guarantee peace. Azerbaijan would then attempt to transfer the Karabakh issue from the OSCE to the United Nations because that organisation has recognized Azerbaijan's territorial integrity within its Soviet-drawn borders. Also, in 2012 Azerbaijan assumed non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nagorno-Karabakh conflict</span> 1988–2024 conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was an ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians until 2023, and seven surrounding districts, inhabited mostly by Azerbaijanis until their expulsion during the 1990s. The Nagorno-Karabakh region was entirely claimed by and partially controlled by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh, but was recognized internationally as part of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan gradually re-established control over Nagorno-Karabakh region and the seven surrounding districts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Land mines in Nagorno-Karabakh</span> First Nagorno-Karabakh War

The region of Nagorno-Karabakh and areas around it are considered to be some of the most heavily mined regions of the former Soviet Union. Mines were laid from early 1990s by both Azerbaijani and Armenian forces during and after the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. The worst-affected areas are along the fortified former contact line between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces, in particular in the districts of Aghdam, Fuzuli and Jabrayil. According to military experts from both Azerbaijan and Armenia, the ground in those areas is covered with "carpets of land mines." The region has the highest per capita rate in the world of accidents due to unexploded ordnance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armenia–Azerbaijan relations</span> Bilateral relations

There are no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The two neighboring states had formal governmental relations between 1918 and 1921, during their brief independence from the collapsed Russian Empire, as the First Republic of Armenia and the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan; these relations existed from the period after the Russian Revolution until they were occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union, becoming the constituent republics of Soviet Armenia and Soviet Azerbaijan. Due to the five wars waged by the countries in the past century—one from 1918 to 1921, another from 1988 to 1994, and the most recent in 2016, 2020 and 2023 —the two have had strained relations. In the wake of hostilities, social memory of Soviet-era cohabitation is widely repressed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Mardakert clashes</span>

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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 in two years and left Armenian forces with the heaviest casualties since the Mardakert clashes of March 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madrid Principles</span> 2009 proposed Nagorno-Karabakh peace settlements

The Madrid Principles were proposed peace settlements of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group. As of 2020 the OSCE Minsk Group was the only internationally agreed body to mediate the negotiations for the peaceful resolution of the conflict. Senior Armenian and Azerbaijani officials have agreed on some of the proposed principles but have made little or no progress towards the withdrawal of Armenian forces from occupied territories or towards the modalities of the decision on the future Nagorno-Karabakh status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations General Assembly Resolution 62/243</span> United Nations resolution resolution adopted in 2008

United Nations General Assembly Resolution 62/243, titled "The Situation in the Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan", is a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly about the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, which was adopted on March 14, 2008 at the 62nd session of the General Assembly. It became the seventh United Nations document concerning Nagorno-Karabakh and the third and last United Nations General Assembly document on it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Political status of Nagorno-Karabakh</span> Status of a disputed region in the Caucasus

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The following lists events that happened during 2014 in the Republic of Azerbaijan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict</span> April 2016 conflict in the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh

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Kyaram or Qyaram Sloyan was an Artsakh Defense Army soldier who was killed during the 2016 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes. After his death, he was beheaded, with videos and pictures showing Azerbaijani soldiers posing with his severed head posted on social networks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Line of Contact (Nagorno-Karabakh)</span> Line separating Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">July 2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes</span> Border clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peacekeeping operations in Nagorno-Karabakh</span> Peacekeeping operations in a disputed region in the Caucasus

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armenia–Azerbaijan border crisis</span> Political and military crisis on the Armenia–Azerbaijan border

The military forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been engaged in a border conflict since 12 May 2021, when Azerbaijani soldiers crossed several kilometers into Armenia in the provinces of Syunik and Gegharkunik. Despite international calls for withdrawal from the European Parliament, the United States, and France, Azerbaijan has maintained its presence on Armenian soil, occupying at least 215 square kilometres (83 sq mi) of internationally recognized Armenian territory. This occupation follows a pattern of Azerbaijan provoking cross-border fights and instigating ceasefire violations when its government is unhappy with the pace of negotiations with Armenia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Armenian protests</span> Protests against the prime minister

The 2022 Armenian protests were a series of anti-government protests in Armenia that started on 5 April 2022. The protests continued into June 2022, and many protesters were detained by police in Yerevan. Protestors demanded Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan resign over his handling of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. On 14 June 2022, the opposition announced their decision to terminate daily demonstrations aimed at toppling Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan after failing to achieve popular support.

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On 12 September 2022, a series of clashes erupted between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops along the Armenia–Azerbaijan border, marking a major escalation in the current border crisis between Armenia–Azerbaijan and resulting in nearly 300 deaths and dozens of injuries on both sides by 14 September. A number of human rights organizations and governments – including the United States, European Parliament, Canada, France, Uruguay, Cyprus – stated that Azerbaijan had launched an attack on positions inside the Republic of Armenia.

Events of the year 2023 in Armenia.

References

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  2. 1 2 3 "One Killed, Two Wounded In Nagorno-Karabakh Clashes". Rferl.org. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  3. 1 2 3 "Serious Escalation In Armenia-Azerbaijan Violence Greets Clinton". EurasiaNet.org. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  4. 1 2 "Analysis: Azerbaijan pumps up tension on border to shift Karabakh issue from MG to UN - Analysis". ArmeniaNow.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-21. Retrieved 2016-06-04.
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  6. "Zhirayr Reyisyan: Situation in Aleppo Armenian districts is comparatively quiet | ARMENPRESS Armenian News Agency". Armenpress.am. Retrieved 2016-06-04.
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  8. Эдвард Налбандян: Азербайджан пытается перекинуть напряжение на границу с Арменией (in Russian). Yerkramas.org. 2012-05-30. Archived from the original on 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  9. Another Enemy Incursion in Tavoush; Armenian Forces Kill 5 Azerbaijani Soldiers http://hetq.am/eng/news/15184/another-enemy--incursion-in-tavoush;-armenian-forces-kill-5-azerbaijani-soldiers.html
  10. 1 2 "Ermənistan 3 əsgərinin öldürüldüyünü bildirir". Azadliq.org. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  11. Maarif Çingizoğlu. "5 Azərbaycan əsgəri həlak olub". Azadliq.org. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  12. "Another diversion attack by Azerbaijan - Society - Panorama | Armenian news". Panorama.am. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  13. Source Panorama.am. "Azeri forces fired thousands of shots at NKR Defense Army positions on June 6–7 - Panorama | Armenian news". Panorama.am. Retrieved 2016-06-04.
  14. "On the warpath?: Armenia calls on U.S., EU to threaten Azerbaijan with sanctions in case of repeated acts of sabotage - Analysis". ArmeniaNow.com. 2016-05-11. Archived from the original on 2016-08-25. Retrieved 2016-06-04.
  15. "Clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan alarm Clinton". BBC News. 6 June 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  16. "Statement of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs" . Retrieved 15 June 2012.