The casualties of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War , fought between Armenia, the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh internationally recognized as the territory of Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan, officially number in the low thousands. [1] [2] According to official figures released by the belligerents, Armenia and Artsakh lost 3,825 troops, [3] with 187 servicemen missing in action, [4] while Azerbaijan lost 2,906 troops, with 6 missing in action. [5] The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the deaths of 541 Syrian fighters or mercenaries fighting for Azerbaijan. [6] However, it is believed that the sides downplayed the number of their own casualties and exaggerated the numbers of enemy casualties and injuries. [7]
The total number of reported civilian fatalities on both sides is at least 185, the whereabouts of 21 Armenian civilians remain unknown. Civilian areas, including major cities, have been hit, particularly Stepanakert (Khankendi), Martuni (Khojavend), Martakert (Aghdere), Shushi (Shusha) in the Republic of Artsakh and Ganja, Barda and Tartar in Azerbaijan, with many buildings and homes destroyed. [8] [9] [10]
The Armenian side reported the deaths of 3,825 servicemen during the war, [3] while 187 remained missing. [4] The Armenian losses included 742 killed servicemen of the Artsakh Defence Army and 45 missing. [11]
By 30 September, the Azerbaijani authorities claimed more than 700 Armenian servicemen were killed or wounded. [12] Armenian Colonel Sergey Shakaryan and Colonel Vahagn Asatryan also died. On 2 November, Artur Sargsyan, Artsakh Republic Deputee Minister of Defense, was killed in combat. [13]
Armenian sources also reported the deaths of several sportspeople in the military: Gor Sargsyan, a member of the Armenian Judo Federation youth team, [14] Albert Dadoyan, a European powerlifting champion, [15] Tatul Harutyunyan, the champion of Armenia in powerlifting, [16] Erik Saryan, player of FC Lokomotiv Yerevan, [17] and Liparit Dashtoyan, a former player of FC Alashkert-2. [18]
During the conflict, the government of Azerbaijan did not disclose the number of its military casualties. [19] This was the first time Azerbaijan did not provide data on combat casualties, whereas during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1988–1994 and in the April 2016 clashes, the Azerbaijani army reported this information. [7] On 8 December 2020, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry released a full list of military casualties, with names, ranks and birth dates. [20] By 21 October 2021, the list was updated to include the deaths of 2,906 servicemen, with another 6 missing in action. [5]
The Armenian side reported 7,630 Azerbaijani soldiers and Syrian mercenaries were killed. [21] [22]
Similar to the Armenian side, Azerbaijani sources also reported the deaths of athletes serving in the military: Arif Qeybiyev, a three-time champion of Azerbaijan in cross country running, [23] and Mukhtar Qasimli, the champion of Azerbaijan in bodybuilding. [24] On 22 October, the National Hero of Azerbaijan and veteran of the 2016 clashes, Colonel Shukur Hamidov, was killed. [25] On 23 November, Colonel Babak Samidli died from a land-mine in post-armistice search for missing soldiers. [26]
On 25 October, the death of an ethnic Russian Azerbaijani soldier, Dmitry Solntsev, was reported. [27] On 27 October, the first woman military casualty was reported, a combat medic who died while taking wounded soldiers from the battlefield. [28]
In December 2020, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the deaths of 541 Syrian fighters or mercenaries fighting for Azerbaijan. [6] The dead included a veteran commander of the Turkish-backed Hamza Division, whose death was reported by Sayf Balud. [29] In April 2021, Syrians for Truth and Justice confirmed 293 of these deaths. [30]
According to Armenian sources, on 27 September, two civilians were killed by Azerbaijani shelling in Aghdam Province, with [31] approximately a dozen injured in Stepanakert; [32] the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry denied these claims. [33] On 10 October, Armenian media reported the killing of two civilians in Hadrut, a mother and her son with a disability, according to Armenia the killing would have been carried out by Azerbaijani infiltrators. [34] [35] Armenian authorities reported 85 Armenian civilians were killed [36] and 21 were missing in the war. [4] However, a doctor in the city of Stepanakert reported that up to 300 to 400 Armenian civilians had been killed in the war as of 25 October. [37]
Armenian sources also indicated the clashes have displaced approximately half of Nagorno-Karabakh's population or approximately 70,000 people. [38]
According to Azerbaijani sources, the Armenian military has targeted densely populated areas containing civilian structures. [39] Human Rights Watch confirmed total of 32 people killed in the ballistic missile attacks on Ganja. [40] On 28 October, following the Barda missile attacks that killed around 26 civilians, the number of Azerbaijani civilians killed reached 91 and with 322 injured. [41]
According to the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan, a total of 100 Azerbaijani civilians were killed and 416 were injured during the war. [42]
On 1 October, two French journalists from Le Monde covering the clashes in the city of Aghdam, were injured by Azerbaijani fire. [43] A week later, three Russian journalists reporting in Shusha were seriously injured by an Azerbaijani attack. [44] [45] 13-year-old Russian citizen Artur Mayakov died of wounds received during the ballistic missile attacks on Ganja on 17 October. [46]
From the start of the war on 27 September to 17 October the Azerbaijani MoD reported the destruction of up to 100 Armenian tanks and other armored vehicles, up to 100 artillery pieces, multiple launch rocket systems and mortars, up to 150 vehicles, up to 60 air defense means, 11 command-control and command-observation posts, eight ammunition depots and one S-300 missile system. [47] On 29 September Azerbaijan separately reported the destruction of a BM-27 Uragan rocket launcher. [48]
On 2 October, the Azerbaijani Center for Economic Reforms Analysis and Communication estimated Armenian losses at US$1.2 billion. [49]
On 9 October Azerbaijan reported that from the previous day until then 13 Armenian T-72 tanks, two IFVs, four BM-21 Grad launchers, two 2S3 Akatsiya self-propelled guns, three D-30 howitzers and two radar systems were destroyed. [50]
On 11 October Azerbaijani media reported the destruction of five T-72 tanks, six D-20 and D-30 howitzers, five trucks with ammunition, 11 other vehicles, three BM-21 Grad, five 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers and eight air defense systems. [51] On the same day it was reported that an Azerbaijani TB2 drone destroyed one Armenian Nebo-M radar station, having fired a MAM-L missile. [52]
On 14 October Azerbaijani media reported the destruction of five T-72 tanks, three BM-21 Grad rocket launchers, one 9K33 Osa missile system, one BMP-2 vehicle, one KS-19 air defense gun, two D-30 howitzers and several military automobiles. [53] On the same day the Azerbaijani MoD claimed the destruction of three R-17 Elbrus tactical ballistic missile launchers that had been targeting Ganja and Mingachevir. [54]
On 17 October Azerbaijan claimed the further destruction of one Sukhoi Su-25 aircraft, [55] seven T-72 tanks, [56] one S-300 missile system, [57] one S-125 missile system, [58] two BM-21 Grad rocket launchers, [56] eight D-30 and one D-20 howitzer, 10 trucks with ammunition and 7 vehicles. [56]
On 18 October Azerbaijan reported the destruction of another Sukhoi Su-25 aircraft [59] and, separately, three Tor M2KM missile systems by a precise MAM-L missile strike. [60]
On 19 October, the Azerbaijani MoD reported the destruction of two more T-72 tanks, two BM-21 Grad launchers, one D-30 howitzer, one D-20 howitzer and 11 automobile vehicles. [61]
On 20 October, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev released a detailed list of destroyed and captured Armenian equipment, according to Azerbaijan. The destroyed equipment included 241 tanks, 50 IFVs, six drones, three Tor units, one TOS-1 unit, four S-300 missile systems, 70 BM-21 Grad units, about forty 9K33 Osa units, five 2K12 Kub and 2K11 Krug units, two BM-27 Uragan units, 198 trucks, 17 self-propelled artillery units, 53 anti-tank weapons, 198 guns, 58 mortars and eight electronic warfare units. [62] The captured trophies included 39 tanks, 24 IFVs, 12 mortars, 25 grenade launchers and 102 cargo vehicles. [62] The captured tanks have been reused against Armenian forces themselves. [62]
On 21 October three more Armenian drones were reportedly destroyed by the Azerbaijani air defense forces. [63]
On 29 October, two more Armenian Su-25 were destroyed, according to Azerbaijani Defense Ministry. [64]
Armenian and Karabakh authorities initially claimed the downing of four Azerbaijani helicopters and the destruction of ten tanks and IFVs, as well as 15 drones. [65] Later the numbers were revised to 34 tanks and armored personnel vehicles destroyed, two armored combat engineering vehicles destroyed and four helicopters and 27 unmanned aerial vehicles downed all within the first day of hostilities. [66] Footage was released showing the destruction or damage of five Azerbaijani tanks. [67]
Over the course of 2 October, the Karabakh Defence Army claimed the destruction of 39 Azerbaijani military vehicles, including a T-90 tank; four Sukhoi Su-25 aircraft; three Mi-24 attack helicopters; and 17 drones. Until 19 October, 100 Azerbaijani tanks are said to have been destroyed or captured. [68]
As of 8 November, the Armenian government-operated Armenian Unified InfoCenter claimed that Armenian forces have destroyed 264 drones, 16 attack helicopters, 25 warplanes, 784 armored vehicles, six TOS systems, [21] four BM-30 Smerch launchers and one Uragan launcher. [69]
The Artsakh Defence Army was the defence force of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh. Established in 1992, it united previously disorganized defence units which were formed in the early 1990s.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is 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.
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.
The siege of Stepanakert started in late 1991, during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, in Stepanakert, the largest city in Nagorno-Karabakh, when the Azerbaijani forces circled the city. Until May 1992, the city and its Armenian population were the target of a months-long campaign of bombardment by Azerbaijan. The bombardment of Stepanakert and adjacent Armenian towns and villages, which took place under the conditions of total blockade by Azerbaijan, caused widespread destruction and many civilian deaths.
The 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, also known as the Four-Day War, April War, or April clashes, began along the former Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact on 1 April 2016 with the Artsakh Defence Army, backed by the Armenian Armed Forces, on one side and the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on the other.
The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding occupied territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involving Azerbaijan, Armenia and the self-declared Armenian breakaway state of Artsakh. The war lasted for 44 days and resulted in Azerbaijani victory, with the defeat igniting anti-government protests in Armenia. Post-war skirmishes continued in the region, including substantial clashes in 2022.
This is an account of engagements which occurred during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, primarily based on announcements from the belligerents. The war has been characterized by the use of armoured warfare; drone warfare, especially the use of Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 and Israeli loitering munition Harop drones; heavy artillery; rocket attacks; and trench warfare. It has also featured the deployment of cluster munitions, which are banned by the majority of the international community but not by Armenia or Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan states that Armenia has deployed cluster munitions against civilians, and international third parties have confirmed evidence of Azerbaijan's use of cluster munitions against civilian areas of Nagorno-Karabakh. A series of ballistic missile attacks have inflicted mass civilian casualties in Ganja, Azerbaijan, while civilian residences and infrastructure in Stepanakert, and elsewhere have been targeted, inflicting casualties and causing extensive damage.
The Ganja ballistic missile attacks comprise four separate ballistic missile attacks on the city of Ganja, Azerbaijan, in October 2020, carried out by the Armenian military forces during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.
The bombardment of Stepanakert began on September 27, 2020, the first day of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, and lasted throughout the duration of the war. Stepanakert is the capital and largest city of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and was home to 60,000 Armenians on the eve of the war. Throughout the 6-week bombardment, international third parties consistently confirmed evidence of the indiscriminate use of cluster bombs and missiles by Azerbaijan against civilian areas lacking any military installations in Stepanakert; this was denied by Azerbaijan. The prolonged bombardment forced many residents to flee, and the rest to take cover in crowded bomb shelters, leading to a severe outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the city, infecting a majority of the remaining residents. Throughout the course of the bombardment, 13 residents were killed, 51 were injured, and 4,258 buildings in the city were damaged.
The Battle of Hadrut began in early October 2020 in Hadrut and its surrounding villages and heights, now seat of Khojavend District, Azerbaijan, and earlier controlled by the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh and was part of Hadrut Province.
The 2020 shelling of Ghazanchetsots Cathedral took place prior to the Battle of Shusha on 8 October, when the Holy Savior Cathedral of the city of Shusha, known as Ghazanchetsots Cathedral, was struck twice by missiles, resulting in the collapse of a part of the roof. Armenia accused the Azerbaijani Armed Forces over the shelling.
Aras Valley campaign was a military operation launched by Azerbaijan against the breakaway Republic of Artsakh along the Aras River in the Azerbaijan–Iran border during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.
The Barda missile attacks was a series of three air attacks on the city of Barda, as well as the villages of Əyricə and Qarayusifli in the same district, in Azerbaijan during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. The attacks involved BM-30 Smerch missiles with cluster warheads, and resulted in 27 civilian deaths.
The Battle of Shusha was the final and decisive battle of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, fought between the armed forces of Azerbaijan and the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh, militarily supported by Armenia, over the control of the city of Shusha. The battle is considered one of the bloodiest battles of the war.
The Madagiz offensive, also called the Battle of Madagiz, or the Battle of Sugovushan, was a military operation launched by Azerbaijan against the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh and their Armenian allies during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. The offensive began on 28 September, when the Azerbaijani forces advanced towards Armenian positions near the abandoned village of Talish. By 3 October, the Azerbaijani forces had seized control of Talish, and the town of Madagiz.
The shelling of Alxanlı or the Alxanlı tragedy was shelling of a house in Alxanlı village and municipality in Fuzuli District of Azerbaijan by the Armenian Armed Forces with 82 mm and 120 mm artilleries on 4 July 2017. As a result of the shelling, 51-year-old Azerbaijani woman Sahiba Guliyeva and her 18-month-old granddaughter Zahra Guliyeva were killed, while 52-year-old Sarvinaz Guliyeva was seriously injured, but survived.
The bombardment of Tartar was the bombardment of the cities, towns, and villages in Tartar District of Azerbaijan by the Armenian Armed Forces and the Artsakh Defence Army with artillery, missiles, and cluster munitions during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. The bombardment of the district started on the second day of the war, on 28 September, when the Armenian forces shelled the city of Tartar, the administrative center of the district, and Shikharkh, which was built for the Azerbaijani refugees of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.
In the aftermath of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, peacekeeping operations were initiated by Russia in the Nagorno-Karabakh region to monitor the ceasefire between the Armenian and Azerbaijani forces. Separate from the Russian operation, Turkey also has personnel working in a joint Russian–Turkish monitoring centre.
Because of the geography, history, and sensitivities of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, accusations, allegations, and statements have been made of involvement by third-party and international actors during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, including in media reports. Azerbaijan has been accused of employing Syrian mercenaries during the war, including reports by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). There have also been allegations of Kurdish militia from Syria and Iraq fighting on the Armenian side, and although some third-party sources had confirmed it, some publications had considered these claims "dubious". During the war, ethnic Armenian volunteers from the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America fought on Armenian side. Both sides have denied employing mercenaries in the war, but the OHCHR had stated that there were reports about Syrian fighters motivated primarily by private gain fighting on Azerbaijan's side recruited with Turkey's assistance and foreign nationals fighting on Armenian side with motivation being investigated, calling for withdrawal of any mercenaries and related actors from Nagorno-Karabakh.
Amnesty International stated that both Azerbaijani and Armenian forces committed war crimes during Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, and called on the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan to immediately conduct independent, impartial investigations, identify all those responsible, and bring them to justice. UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that "indiscriminate attacks on populated areas anywhere, including in Stepanakert, Ganja and other localities in and around the immediate Nagorno-Karabakh zone of conflict, were totally unacceptable". Columbia University's Institute for the Study of Human Rights recognized that violent conflict affected all sides in the conflict but distinguished "the collateral damage of Azerbaijanis" from "the policy of atrocities such as mutilations and beheadings committed by Azerbaijani forces and their proxies in Artsakh." Azerbaijan started an investigation on war crimes by Azerbaijani servicemen in November and as of 14 December 2020, has arrested four of its servicemen.
The number of victims of the 44-day war is 3825 by today's data.