Home » About Artsakh » An old conflict, modern Israeli weapons

An old conflict, modern Israeli weapons

Church in Nagorno-Karabakh: “Unique Armenian Architecture” (Photo: Uriel Levy)

The Armenia-Azerbaijan War: “They Have Tried to Destroy Us for Over a Century. We Won’t Let Them”

The First War During the COVID-19 Era

At the beginning of the week, Azerbaijan launched an attack on the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. There is also an Israeli angle to this conflict: “You must understand that your drones are exploding on us,” says the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Artsakh.

By Uriel Levy Last Update: 02.10.2020 | 16:45

Uriel Levy

Last update: 02.10.2020 | 16:45

Doctor David babayan: “If Turkey succeeds in establishing another terrorist state here, it will also affect Israel” (Photo: Private album)

By Sipan Gyulumyan/Armenian Defense Ministry Press Service/PAN Photo via AP)

The July 2020 Attack

“During the Four-Day War, ten of my cousins volunteered at the front,” says Armine Alexanyan, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Artsakh. “My father, who fought in the War of Independence, was already too old to fight.”

After two decades of localized clashes along the border, in April 2016, Azerbaijan attempted to seize Nagorno-Karabakh for the first time since the initial war. The Azerbaijani army attacked with aircraft, helicopters, artillery, and tanks, capturing eight military positions and a village. Two Armenian children were killed by a Grad missile that struck their home. In the village of Talish, Azerbaijani soldiers murdered three elderly Armenians who were unable to flee and mutilated their bodies.

Azerbaijani soldiers took photos holding the severed heads of Armenian soldiers, standing on corpses in images eerily reminiscent of those circulated by ISIS at the time. Azerbaijan celebrated its fallen soldiers as martyrs, adding a religious dimension to the conflict. Three days later, the Armenians managed to reclaim the lost territory.

Military analysts linked the escalation in April 2016 to a downturn in oil prices and Russia’s economic decline. Both countries suffered financially, leading to domestic unrest. In Armenia, a corrupt government was eventually ousted through democratic elections. However, Azerbaijan’s autocratic regime needed war to suppress internal dissent. The conflict erupted just weeks after the “Panama Papers” leak, which revealed the Azerbaijani president’s hidden offshore wealth.

Azerbaijan’s greatest military success in that war was the use of an Israeli-made “suicide drone” to destroy a bus full of Armenian soldiers. Following its failure to secure significant territorial gains, Azerbaijan increased its arms purchases from Israel. According to SIPRI, 60% of Azerbaijan’s defense imports between 2015 and 2019 came from Israel.

Four years later, in July 2020, Azerbaijan attacked again—this time targeting Armenia itself, rather than Nagorno-Karabakh. The attack resulted in dozens of casualties on both sides but led to no territorial changes. Anti-Armenian sentiment in Azerbaijan intensified, manifesting in protests where crowds chanted “Death to Armenia.” The Azerbaijani government sought greater military support from Turkey, which, according to Reuters, has provided Azerbaijan with thousands of Syrian mercenaries in recent weeks.

Photo of Armine Alexanyan, Deputy Foreign Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh (photo EFoA- European friends of Armenia)

Armenian soldiers in battle on the frontline against Azerbaijan, July 2020. The attack claimed the lives of dozens of soldiers (Armenian Defense Ministry Press Service/PanPhoto via AP)

“This Time, Turkey Is Much More Involved”

“Turkey has always helped Azerbaijan against us,” says Alexian. “But this time, Turkey is much more involved than before. It’s no longer just military advisors and weapons—it’s Turkish planes in the Armenian skies, significant Turkish forces, and Syrian mercenaries. How is it possible that a country sitting in the ‘Minsk Group,’ which is supposed to mediate between Armenia and Azerbaijan, is so deeply involved in the fighting? We hope that all parties in the conflict will return to the negotiating table, as they did in the past.”

“It is very unfortunate that Israeli companies and the Israeli government sell advanced weapons to Azerbaijan—weapons that Azerbaijan uses against civilians.”

“Turkey sees the U.S. withdrawing from the region, and so it is trying to fill the vacuum,” adds Babayan. “It is operating in many countries in the region to become the dominant player in the Middle East and the Caucasus. If Turkey succeeds here in Artsakh, it will encourage it to increase its efforts in other arenas, such as in Gaza with Hamas, in northern Syria, and in Libya. They have launched this war to consolidate their ranks. These are not democracies like ours. Erdoğan sends military forces wherever he sees economic potential. His growing power will be dangerous for all the countries in the region.”

“Our people have so much in common with the Jewish people. We have many friends in Israel. I have nothing bad to say about Israelis. You are a model for us,” emphasizes Alexian. “But it is very unfortunate that Israeli companies and the Israeli government sell advanced weapons to Azerbaijan—weapons that Azerbaijan uses against civilians. You must understand that your drones are exploding on us.”

Tanks of the Azerbaijani Army Attack on the Nagorno-Karabakh Border, September 27, 2020: The First War of the COVID-19 Era

This is the first war in the world since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic—a new battleground between Russia and Turkey and also a testing ground for new Israeli weapons. However, unlike other conflicts in our era, which are often characterized by the weakness of central governments, the war in Nagorno-Karabakh is being fought between states with stable governments. The historical roots of the war date back to the Armenian Genocide during World War I.

The Black Garden

The Armenians have lived in Artsakh for thousands of years. Starting in the 4th century CE, Armenian monasteries were built there in a distinctive architectural style, some of which still stand today. The region has changed hands between empires—Persians, Arabs, Mongols, Seljuks, and Ottomans—who gave it the name “Karabakh,” meaning “Black Garden” in Turkish and Persian. The word “Nagorno,” meaning “mountainous” in Russian, was added under Soviet rule.

The region’s remoteness from major cities and trade routes, along with the cohesiveness of its Armenian population, which was always rural and sparse, granted its residents partial sovereignty under different conquerors. Foreign powers attributed little significance to the area, as it lacked valuable natural resources or a large population to exploit. However, Armenians viewed the mountains of Artsakh as a sacred homeland.

“At the end of World War I, Britain granted the Sultan of Baku control over a new state called Azerbaijan, and Karabakh was included within its borders,” explains Babayan. “Azerbaijan was created by Britain to prevent the Russians and Persians from seizing the region’s vast oil resources. It is a very new nation, composed of various groups that struggle to unite. This is why it has failed to establish a democracy. To create national cohesion, they use the narrative that Armenia has occupied Karabakh.”

A church in Nagorno-Karabakh. The name Karabakh, meaning “black garden” in Turkish, came from the Ottoman Empire. The word “Ngorno,” meaning “mountainous” in Russian, was added under Soviet rule (Photo: Uriel Levy)

When Did Violence in the Region Begin?

“The Turk Azeris took part in the general extermination of the Armenians carried out by the Ottoman Empire. In September 1918, they “purged” Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, with the horrific murder of 30,000 Armenian civilians. In March 1920, after Azerbaijani forces captured the largest city of Shushi in Artsakh, they murdered the 20,000 Armenians remaining in the city, and destroyed the ancient churches.

An Armenian T-72 tank damaged during the fighting in Shushi is erected as a monument to those who fell there (Photo by Raffi Kojian)

“Armenia and Artsakh separate the Turks of Anatolia from the Turks of Central Asia, and that is why they are trying to destroy us.”

The genocide only stopped after the Bolsheviks carried out a coup in Azerbaijan, which was annexed by the Soviet Union. Unfortunately for the suffering Armenians, when the fighting subsided, Turkey invaded Armenia and another war began. The Turkish-Armenian War ended with Armenia annexed by the Soviet Union in 1920.
In the early 1930s, an independence movement was organized in Nagorno-Karabakh. In 1936, the movement’s leader was assassinated and many of its activists were arrested. Under Soviet Azerbaijan’s rule, which lasted for about 70 years, Nagorno-Karabakh was depopulated and excluded from the centers of power. The authorities encouraged the migration of Azerbaijanis to Nagorno-Karabakh in order to strengthen their hold on its autonomous parliament, but only a few, mostly minorities, agreed to move to the remote region, where even after the emigration of foreigners, over three-quarters of its inhabitants remained Armenian.
In October 1987, Armenians demonstrated in the cities of Stepanakert and Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, against the Azerbaijani government. The next day, the leader of communist Azerbaijan declared that “the Azerbaijanis are organized to massacre Armenians in Karabakh at any time.” After a week of massive demonstrations, a vote was held in the Nagorno-Karabakh parliament. An overwhelming majority of deputies voted in favor of the region being annexed to Armenia. Two days later, Azerbaijani police began shooting at the demonstrators.

Demonstration for Artsakh independence in Stepanakert, February 1988 (Photo from Wikimedia)

On February 27, 1988, a pogrom broke out in the town of Sumgait, near Baku. Crowds of Azerbaijanis ran through the streets, going from house to house and business to business to loot, rape, and murder Armenians. Hundreds of Armenians had been murdered by March 1. This massacre was in fact the opening signal for the Nagorno-Karabakh War.

Nagorno-Karabakh War of Independence

The war began with Armenian militias, armed with light weapons, who organized themselves to protect their families. In places where Armenians did not organize for self-defense, brutal massacres were recorded against Armenians who were smeared by the authorities.

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the declarations of independence of Armenia and Azerbaijan in 1991 escalated the struggle. Both new states armed themselves with heavy weapons and established modern armies. Fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan began on all the fronts where the two had fought in 1920, including Nagorno-Karabakh, with Turkey sending soldiers to fight alongside the Azerbaijani army.

The impoverished Armenian nation, which had not yet recovered from the genocide of 1915, was once again embroiled in war along all its borders. Even without this war, Armenia would have been neck-deep in poverty and ruin in those years. The collapse of the Soviet Union left it penniless, after an earthquake in December 1988 killed 30,000 people.

Unlike Armenia, Azerbaijan benefited from the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It is not surrounded by enemies. The dissolution of the communist bloc gave it freedom of trade, which provided it with a good income thanks to its vast oil and gas reserves. Trade agreements with Turkey, Iran, and Georgia brought in a lot of money for the state.

In addition, thousands of mujahideen fighters from Afghanistan and Chechnya enlisted to help Azerbaijan in what they perceived as a holy war against Christians.

My brother was only eight years old when he heard the alarm and started running. The missile exploded on him at the entrance to the shelter and he was killed”

In the fall of 1991, the Azerbaijanis laid siege to the capital of Karabakh, Skopje. The siege lasted 120 days, during which the city was bombarded with mortars, artillery, and Grad missiles, and snipers shot at passersby. At the height of the bombing, about 400 Grad missiles were fired at the city every day (for comparison, in the summer of 2014, during the most intense Hamas attack on Israel, 665 Grad rockets were fired in 50 days).

The Azerbaijanis also committed a number of horrific massacres. On April 10, 1992, the Azerbaijanis entered the village of Marga with tanks and infantry. After capturing the village, they murdered more than 100 Armenians and abused their bodies. The story of the Marga massacre is well documented because the Armenians retook the village the next day.

Armenia Joins the Fighting

The Armenian army did not intervene in the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh until early 1992. The fear of genocide against the Armenian residents of the region ultimately led the Armenian Republic to invade Artsakh, despite pressure from the United States and Russia, who opposed this. The Armenians initially targeted the capture of Khojaly, an Azerbaijani town from which Stepanakert had been bombarded, and it was the only airport in the region.

The Armenians instructed the civilians to leave the town center carrying white flags to avoid harm during the ground invasion. A group of Meskhetian minority members, who tried to flee the town while waving white flags, was shot at close range on the night of February 25-26, 1992, just before the Armenian army entered the city.

Journalists who were present at the front, including the only video photographer who documented the events, accused the Azerbaijanis of the massacre. Ayaz Mutalibov, the president of Azerbaijan at the time, blamed the “Azerbaijani People’s Front” underground organization. The Azerbaijani media, which was distant from the battlefield, accused the Armenians of the massacre.

Over time, the Azerbaijani government adopted this claim, inflating the number of casualties. Today, most Azerbaijanis believe that the Armenians massacred them, which fuels the hatred. Currently, Azerbaijan uses the Khojaly massacre narrative to “cleanse” its name from the massacres committed against Armenians and to strengthen its claim to sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh. Significant diplomatic efforts are being made to convince the world’s nations to recognize the massacre as genocide carried out by the Armenians against Azerbaijanis.

The price of victory

“My brother was only eight years old. He heard the siren and started running. The missile exploded on him at the entrance of the shelter, and he was killed,” says Alexanyan. “Every family in Artsakh has lost loved ones. You need to understand that this is the reality we live in. My father was in his fifties at the time, but like all men over 18 in Artsakh, he went to the front lines.”

By 1994, the Armenians had captured vast territories from Azerbaijan, twice the size of Soviet-era Nagorno-Karabakh, which they initially sought to defend. After being defeated, the Azerbaijani government agreed to a ceasefire and negotiations. In return, the Armenians withdrew from some of the territories they had captured and established themselves in a strategic line of fortifications on the high peaks surrounding Artsakh.

The “We Are Our Mountains” statue, the symbol of Nagorno-Karabakh, located near the capital Stepanakert (Photo: Uriel Levy).

The war claimed the lives of approximately 30,000 people, including 1,264 Armenian civilians and hundreds of Azerbaijani civilians. Over a million people were displaced from their homes. Azerbaijan was emptied of Armenians, while Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh were emptied of Azerbaijanis. Armenian refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh were granted Armenian citizenship. Azerbaijan, to this day, refuses to grant citizenship to its refugees.

Although the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh is not recognized by the international community, it existed in relative peace until the renewal of Azerbaijani attacks in recent years.

“It deeply saddens me that Israel, of all countries—one that shares our values and has a similar history, a country surrounded by enemies just like us, a country that constantly fights for its right to exist—is the one selling the most weapons to Azerbaijan,” concludes Alexian. “How can a nation that has suffered the Holocaust arm a country that wants to commit genocide? How is this possible?”

An old conflict, modern Israeli weapons