Suffering a bitter defeat on the battlefields of the 44-day-long Patriotic War ever since it started on 27 September, Armenians resorted to provocations to make up for their losses.
Attacking non-combatant population, Yerevan was striving to sow discord and panic in the Azerbaijani community and thus force Baku to suspend its military effort.
During the Patriotic War that began on 27 September as a counter-offensive operation in response to Armenia's violation of ceasefire and ended on 10 November 2020, towns and districts of Azerbaijan sitting away from the frontline were subjected to heavy shelling.
The enemy would use heavy armaments, artillery and ballistic missiles among them.
Enemy's rockets pounded Azerbaijani towns of Ganja, Barda, Terter, Yevlakh, Beylagan, Qabala, Goranboy, Aghjabadi, Agdam, Mingachevir, Khizi. Some of these towns sit hundreds of kilometers away from the frontline.
According to the General Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan, Armenian military forces' crimes committed against Azerbaijan's peaceful population between 27 September and 10 November 2020 resulted in 93 civilian casualties; 454 people were wounded. There were a lot of children among the victims. Many got orphaned as a result of the bombardments.
Apart from human casualties, colossal damage was dealt to dozens of thousands of residential and non-residential facilities; hundreds of vehicles and over a thousand farms were damaged beyond repair.
The details of mass murders committed and damage wrecked by Armenian military forces across our cities and districts are provided below.
Attacking non-combatant population, Yerevan was striving to sow discord and panic in the Azerbaijani community and thus force Baku to suspend its military effort.
During the Patriotic War that began on 27 September as a counter-offensive operation in response to Armenia's violation of ceasefire and ended on 10 November 2020, towns and districts of Azerbaijan sitting away from the frontline were subjected to heavy shelling.
The enemy would use heavy armaments, artillery and ballistic missiles among them.
Enemy's rockets pounded Azerbaijani towns of Ganja, Barda, Terter, Yevlakh, Beylagan, Qabala, Goranboy, Aghjabadi, Agdam, Mingachevir, Khizi. Some of these towns sit hundreds of kilometers away from the frontline.
According to the General Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan, Armenian military forces' crimes committed against Azerbaijan's peaceful population between 27 September and 10 November 2020 resulted in 93 civilian casualties; 454 people were wounded. There were a lot of children among the victims. Many got orphaned as a result of the bombardments.
Apart from human casualties, colossal damage was dealt to dozens of thousands of residential and non-residential facilities; hundreds of vehicles and over a thousand farms were damaged beyond repair.
The details of mass murders committed and damage wrecked by Armenian military forces across our cities and districts are provided below.
Ganja, the second largest city of Azerbaijan, suffered the most from the enemy's treacherous attacks. On 4 October 2020 at approximately 10:00 AM, rockets launched by Armenian forces hit a residential area in Ganja, ripping through a two-story building and several private residences.
The shelling killed one civilian, Tunar Goshgar Aliyev, and wounded 32 non-combatants. Apart from damage to residential facilities, the attack resulted in a damage to the urban infrastructure and ancient historical structures.
This rocket strike was a first serious assault outside the war-ravaged Karabakh region. On the overall, Armenian military forces struck Ganja 5 times (on 4, 5, 8, 11, and 17 October) during the war.
The last two attacks had much sadder consequences; 10 people, including 5 women, were killed late in the night of 11 October when Armenians launched a SCUD-B ballistic missile on Ganja. Nearly 40 people were wounded, 10 women and 9 children of minority age among them. Over a dozen blocks and 100 structures were damaged.
On 17 October, Armenian SCUD missiles hit Ganja again, killing 15 and wounding 55 this time. There were little children, women and elderly among the casualties.
According to the official sources, Armenian attacks on Ganja killed a total of 26 people and wounded 175, and dealt colossal damage to the urban infrastructure and vehicles.
Just like before, by subjecting Ganja to missile and artillery attacks, Armenia – the occupying country – would effectively dismiss the international community's resolutions, statement, and appeals, and kept on grossly violating the international humanitarian law, notably the Geneva Convention of 1949. The only reason for such lawlessness was Armenia not having been subjected to international sanctions, so it could get away with the crime.
The lack of serious international pressure and denunciation of Armenia's actions following the first attack on Ganja gave it the upper hand and resulted in subsequent provocations on its part.
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The shelling killed one civilian, Tunar Goshgar Aliyev, and wounded 32 non-combatants. Apart from damage to residential facilities, the attack resulted in a damage to the urban infrastructure and ancient historical structures.
This rocket strike was a first serious assault outside the war-ravaged Karabakh region. On the overall, Armenian military forces struck Ganja 5 times (on 4, 5, 8, 11, and 17 October) during the war.
The last two attacks had much sadder consequences; 10 people, including 5 women, were killed late in the night of 11 October when Armenians launched a SCUD-B ballistic missile on Ganja. Nearly 40 people were wounded, 10 women and 9 children of minority age among them. Over a dozen blocks and 100 structures were damaged.
On 17 October, Armenian SCUD missiles hit Ganja again, killing 15 and wounding 55 this time. There were little children, women and elderly among the casualties.
According to the official sources, Armenian attacks on Ganja killed a total of 26 people and wounded 175, and dealt colossal damage to the urban infrastructure and vehicles.
Just like before, by subjecting Ganja to missile and artillery attacks, Armenia – the occupying country – would effectively dismiss the international community's resolutions, statement, and appeals, and kept on grossly violating the international humanitarian law, notably the Geneva Convention of 1949. The only reason for such lawlessness was Armenia not having been subjected to international sanctions, so it could get away with the crime.
The lack of serious international pressure and denunciation of Armenia's actions following the first attack on Ganja gave it the upper hand and resulted in subsequent provocations on its part.
More information.
Barda District also suffered from the Armenian terror; this time Armenians used banned cluster munitions against Qarayusifli village (Barda District) and the city of Barda (on 27 and 28 October 2020, respectively), killing 26 non-combatants and wounding over 70, including 8 children and 15 women.
Besides, the strikes dealt colossal damage to over 30 civil infrastructure facilities; over 20 private residences and 22 civilian vehicles were damaged.
Enemy rockets pounding Yeni Ayrija village (Barda District) on 7 November 2020 killed Shahmali Atraf Rahimov (b. 2004).
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Besides, the strikes dealt colossal damage to over 30 civil infrastructure facilities; over 20 private residences and 22 civilian vehicles were damaged.
Enemy rockets pounding Yeni Ayrija village (Barda District) on 7 November 2020 killed Shahmali Atraf Rahimov (b. 2004).
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Another terror attack was committed in Terter, where on 28 September a shell exploded on the main street in front of the Terter district court building; a fragment ripped through an ambulance car and struck its driver Ganbar Asadov, 52, ripping off his leg.
Another burst killed Mehman Aliyev, 45, who at that moment was on the sidewalk approximately 20 meters away from the court building.
The next provocation, committed by the invader's forces against Azerbaijan's peaceful population on 3 October 2020, resulted in an artillery shell hitting Azad Qaraqoyunlu village (Goranboy District) and wounding Safar Ayyub Mammadov (b. 1996) and Akif Yunis Guliyev; both people were admitted to hospital.
On 15 October, the enemy used heavy artillery to pound Terter's municipal cemetery; the shells killed Vasif Rustamov, 58, Parviz Orujov, 31, Iskandar Amirov, 53, and Shakir Zamanov, 32, who were attending a funeral there. Fuzuli Mammadov, 54, Nofel Amirov, 52, Elsevar Allahverdiyev, 41, and Rafael Gazanfarli, 34 were wounded and subsequently admitted to hospital.
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Another burst killed Mehman Aliyev, 45, who at that moment was on the sidewalk approximately 20 meters away from the court building.
The next provocation, committed by the invader's forces against Azerbaijan's peaceful population on 3 October 2020, resulted in an artillery shell hitting Azad Qaraqoyunlu village (Goranboy District) and wounding Safar Ayyub Mammadov (b. 1996) and Akif Yunis Guliyev; both people were admitted to hospital.
On 15 October, the enemy used heavy artillery to pound Terter's municipal cemetery; the shells killed Vasif Rustamov, 58, Parviz Orujov, 31, Iskandar Amirov, 53, and Shakir Zamanov, 32, who were attending a funeral there. Fuzuli Mammadov, 54, Nofel Amirov, 52, Elsevar Allahverdiyev, 41, and Rafael Gazanfarli, 34 were wounded and subsequently admitted to hospital.
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On 4 October 2020 at approximately 11:00 PM, the occupying country's military forces, instructed by the military-political leadership of Armenia, launched rocket strikes on residential areas in Mingachevir, an industrial city in Azerbaijan. Two out of three rockets they launched failed to explode, however.
One of these two rockets fell in front of Azerbaijan CHPP LLC, and the other near a residential house. The third rocket ripped through a private residence; five people were wounded and admitted to hospital, and the house itself was heavily damaged.
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One of these two rockets fell in front of Azerbaijan CHPP LLC, and the other near a residential house. The third rocket ripped through a private residence; five people were wounded and admitted to hospital, and the house itself was heavily damaged.
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On 3 October 2020, the occupying country's military forces launched a heavy shelling of civilians' houses in Beylagan; as a result, a private residence collapsed, burying Zulfiyya Iskandar Ismayilova (b. 1976) and her sister Arzu Iskandar Asadova (b. 1998) under the rubble. At the same time, shells bursting across the city wounded Etibar Tavakkyul Balakishiyev (b. 1982) and Sevda Yashar Bashirova (b. 1969), who were admitted to hospital. The shelling also dealt damage to numerous residential houses.
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On 5 October 2020, the occupying country's military forces launched heavy artillery and rocket attack on towns and villages of Goranboy District, killing Qizilhajili village dweller Raziyya Bayramali Abbasova (b. 1955). Shells launched by the enemy also wounded dwellers of another residential house, Mashdi Ibrahim Hasanov (b. 1958), his daughter Sevinj Hasanova (b.1984) and grandson Eljan Elgun Hasanov (b. 2011), who were admitted to hospital alongside Rasim Nadir Alakbarov (b. 1969), who was wounded by a shell fragment on the street.
In the morning of 29 October, the enemy once again pounded the district with heavy artillery and rocket strikes from various directions. A shell ripped through a house in Tapqaraqoyunly village, killing Flora Garash Ziyadova (b. 1967), a village dweller; her house sustained severe damage.
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In the morning of 29 October, the enemy once again pounded the district with heavy artillery and rocket strikes from various directions. A shell ripped through a house in Tapqaraqoyunly village, killing Flora Garash Ziyadova (b. 1967), a village dweller; her house sustained severe damage.
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The enemy's artillery strike on Aghjabadi District villages on 4 October 2020 killed fifteen-year old Farid Dilafat Iskandarov and wounded another civilian.
Armenian forces launched 3 rockets on the city of Aghjabadi on 5 October; one of them failed to expolde, the second hit a residential yard and crushed a house, and the third hit another residence.
The third rocket wounded Elshan Mehdi Ibrahimov (b. 1994) and his niece Ayan Rovshan Ibrahimova (b. 2015), who were admitted to hospital; their house sustained severe damage.
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Armenian forces launched 3 rockets on the city of Aghjabadi on 5 October; one of them failed to expolde, the second hit a residential yard and crushed a house, and the third hit another residence.
The third rocket wounded Elshan Mehdi Ibrahimov (b. 1994) and his niece Ayan Rovshan Ibrahimova (b. 2015), who were admitted to hospital; their house sustained severe damage.
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It was on the first day of the war, on 27 September, that Armenian military forces shelled Qashalti village (Naftalan District). This provocation resulted in the death of Elbrus Gurbanov (b. 1951) and four members of his family: Shafayat Gurbanova (b. 1956), Fidan Gurbanova (b. 2006), Shahriyar Gurbanov (b. 2007) and Afag Amirova (b. 1981).
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On 1 October 2020 at approximately 1:00 PM, the occupying country's military forces one more time subjected peaceful population to artillery fire. Shell fragments killed Hajimammadli village (Agdam District) dweller Murshud Rashid Mammadov (b. 1966) and his son Samir Mammadov (b. 1996); their house sustained severe damage.
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In the morning of 9 October 2020, the occupying country's military forces subjected Fuzuli District to heavy artillery and rocket shelling from various directions.
As shells ripped through Qarabagh village, dwellers Samir Hidayat Asadov (b. 1982), Nizami Jafar Ibrahimov (b. 1958) and Alman Anvar Abbasov (b. 1968) were wounded and admitted to hospital; besides, the shelling dealt heavy damage to their houses.
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As shells ripped through Qarabagh village, dwellers Samir Hidayat Asadov (b. 1982), Nizami Jafar Ibrahimov (b. 1958) and Alman Anvar Abbasov (b. 1968) were wounded and admitted to hospital; besides, the shelling dealt heavy damage to their houses.
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Under Fire: Peaceful Towns Outside Combat Zone
The military and political leadership of Armenia deliberately picked densely populated targets in Azerbaijan, such as district and rural centers, civil infrastructure facilities, hospitals, medical centers, school buildings, or kindergartens.
It was on the first days of the war that the enemy shelled Azerbaijan's towns and villages.
On 27 September, Armenian forces shelled Qashalti village in vicinity of the resort town of Naftalan. The attack killed 5 members of one single family. 19 local dwellers were wounded and admitted to hospital.
It was on the first days of the war that the enemy shelled Azerbaijan's towns and villages.
On 27 September, Armenian forces shelled Qashalti village in vicinity of the resort town of Naftalan. The attack killed 5 members of one single family. 19 local dwellers were wounded and admitted to hospital.
Photo: AZERTAC
On the next day, 28 September, the enemy launched an attack on Terter. A shell exploded on the main street in front of the Terter district court building; a fragment ripped through an ambulance car and struck its driver Ganbar Asadov, 52, ripping off his leg. Another burst killed Mehman Aliyev, 45, who at that moment was on the sidewalk approximately 20 meters away from the court building.
Attacks on Terter were launched also on the next days of war, notably on 3 and 15 October 2020. The second attack killed four people.
Ganja, the second largest city of Azerbaijan, suffered the most from the enemy's attacks. Despite it sitting 60 km away from the frontline, the war saw Armenian military forces striking it five times with heavy artillery and rockets: on 4,5,8,11, and 17 October.
The fourth and the fifth strikes had the most tragic consequences. 10 people, including 5 women, were killed late on the night of 11 October when Armenians launched a SCUD-B ballistic missile on Ganja. Nearly 40 people were wounded, 10 women and 9 children of minority age among them. Over a dozen residential blocks and more than 100 structures were damaged.
On 17 October, Armenian SCUD missiles hit Ganja again, this time killing 15 and wounding 55. There were little children, women and elderly among the casualties.
Attacks on Terter were launched also on the next days of war, notably on 3 and 15 October 2020. The second attack killed four people.
Ganja, the second largest city of Azerbaijan, suffered the most from the enemy's attacks. Despite it sitting 60 km away from the frontline, the war saw Armenian military forces striking it five times with heavy artillery and rockets: on 4,5,8,11, and 17 October.
The fourth and the fifth strikes had the most tragic consequences. 10 people, including 5 women, were killed late on the night of 11 October when Armenians launched a SCUD-B ballistic missile on Ganja. Nearly 40 people were wounded, 10 women and 9 children of minority age among them. Over a dozen residential blocks and more than 100 structures were damaged.
On 17 October, Armenian SCUD missiles hit Ganja again, this time killing 15 and wounding 55. There were little children, women and elderly among the casualties.
According to the official sources, Armenian attacks on Ganja killed a total of 26 people and wounded 175, and dealt colossal damage to the urban infrastructure and vehicles.
In his interview with ArmNews TV channel, the third President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan openly confirmed that the Armenian side deliberately shelled residential quarters in Ganja during the 2020 Karabakh war.
Photo: Trend, Report and open sources
Another district that badly suffered from the Armenian terror was Barda; Armenians shelled Qarayusifli village and the city of Barda itself (on 27 and 28 October 2020, respectively), killing 26 non-combatants and wounding over 70, 8 children and 15 women among them.
Besides, the strikes dealt colossal damage to over 30 civil infrastructure facilities; over 20 private residences and 22 civilian vehicles were damaged.
It was reported that the rockets had carried cluster munitions. Used against troops in the field, they are prohibited by most countries of the world as they pose risks to civilians in residential areas.
Besides, the strikes dealt colossal damage to over 30 civil infrastructure facilities; over 20 private residences and 22 civilian vehicles were damaged.
It was reported that the rockets had carried cluster munitions. Used against troops in the field, they are prohibited by most countries of the world as they pose risks to civilians in residential areas.
One of bombardments of Barda killed a volunteer of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The 39-year-old man was part of an emergency mobile team and was hit by shelling.
A group of journalists from The New York Times was in Barda on that day when it was caught in an Armenian rocket attack. The report published on the newspaper's webpage describes the moment of the blast and the nightmare the city lived straight after.
"The first explosion was loud enough to make us stop the car. It seemed close and sounded like a rocket, so we quickly jumped out and crouched down by a wall. If we hadn't stopped, I later realized, we might have driven straight into one the blasts, a scant 20 yards (approximately 20 m) up the road", Carlotta Gall writes.
"Then, a string of deafening explosions sounded in rapid succession, each one seeming closer and louder, she notes, describing shrieks and cries that were heard after the blasts died away; there were damaged cars and blood everywhere..."
Photo: The New York Times
Ironically, the Armenian party launched strikes right after it signed a humanitarian ceasefire agreement. For instance, the 11 October bombardment of Ganja happened the next day after the parties agreed to a temporary ceasefire for humanitarian purposes. Mediated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, such agreement was reached following an 11-hour long meeting in Moscow.
Following the 24 October 2020 meetings of the parties to the conflict in Washington, DC, a joint trilateral statement was issued, prompting a new humanitarian ceasefire. Couple days later, on 27 and 28 October, Armenia used widely banned cluster munitions against Barda and Barda District.
The Armenian side never made a secret that they were in gross violation of all international laws of war. Both Armenian military officials and Karabakh's puppet authorities openly stated they targeted civilians in Azerbaijan.
According to the General Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan, Armenian military forces' crimes committed against Azerbaijan's peaceful population between 27 September and 10 November 2020 resulted in 94 civilian casualties; 454 people were wounded and admitted to hospital.
Following the 24 October 2020 meetings of the parties to the conflict in Washington, DC, a joint trilateral statement was issued, prompting a new humanitarian ceasefire. Couple days later, on 27 and 28 October, Armenia used widely banned cluster munitions against Barda and Barda District.
The Armenian side never made a secret that they were in gross violation of all international laws of war. Both Armenian military officials and Karabakh's puppet authorities openly stated they targeted civilians in Azerbaijan.
According to the General Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan, Armenian military forces' crimes committed against Azerbaijan's peaceful population between 27 September and 10 November 2020 resulted in 94 civilian casualties; 454 people were wounded and admitted to hospital.
The War Claimed The Lives of 12 Azerbaijani Children, Many Got Orphaned
According to the General Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan, Armenian military forces' crimes committed against Azerbaijan's peaceful population between 27 September and 10 November 2020 resulted in 93 civilian casualties, 12 children among them. Many got orphaned as a result of the bombardments.
There were 12 children among the victims of Armenian terror committed against Azerbaijan's peaceful population during the 44-day war of 2020. 12 lives that got cut short too soon...
12-year-old Shahriyar Gurbanov and his 14-year-old sister Fidan Gurbanova died in their own house in Qashalti Qaraqoyunlu village (Naftalan) when shelled by Armenian military forces on 28 September.
14-year-old Farid Iskandarov was killed on 4 October by the enemy's attack on Taynag village (Aghjabadi District).
Rocket strikes on Ganja, notably the one launched on the night of 17 October, resulted in the most casualties. On that night alone, Armenian war criminals killed six children in the city located dozens of kilometers away from the frontline.
Among them were 6-year-old Orkhan Khalilli, 6-year-old Maryam Khalilli, 5-year-old Nazrin Asgarova, and one-year-old Madina Shahnazarli. Nigar Asgarova was killed by the attack on the eve of her 15th birthday.
Among the children-victims of Armenian terror in Ganja was 13-year-old Artur Mayakov, a Russian citizen who was visiting his aunt. He was heavily injured during the 17 October attack; recovered from under the rubble, he was admitted to hospital but died a week later from his wounds.
On 24 October, Armenian rocket strikes killed 16-year-old Orkhan Ismayilzada in Kabirli village (Terter District); three days later, they killed 7-year-old Aysu Iskandarova and 16-year old Shahmali Rahimov in Qarayusifli and Yeni Ayrija villages (Barda District).
There were 12 children among the victims of Armenian terror committed against Azerbaijan's peaceful population during the 44-day war of 2020. 12 lives that got cut short too soon...
12-year-old Shahriyar Gurbanov and his 14-year-old sister Fidan Gurbanova died in their own house in Qashalti Qaraqoyunlu village (Naftalan) when shelled by Armenian military forces on 28 September.
14-year-old Farid Iskandarov was killed on 4 October by the enemy's attack on Taynag village (Aghjabadi District).
Rocket strikes on Ganja, notably the one launched on the night of 17 October, resulted in the most casualties. On that night alone, Armenian war criminals killed six children in the city located dozens of kilometers away from the frontline.
Among them were 6-year-old Orkhan Khalilli, 6-year-old Maryam Khalilli, 5-year-old Nazrin Asgarova, and one-year-old Madina Shahnazarli. Nigar Asgarova was killed by the attack on the eve of her 15th birthday.
Among the children-victims of Armenian terror in Ganja was 13-year-old Artur Mayakov, a Russian citizen who was visiting his aunt. He was heavily injured during the 17 October attack; recovered from under the rubble, he was admitted to hospital but died a week later from his wounds.
On 24 October, Armenian rocket strikes killed 16-year-old Orkhan Ismayilzada in Kabirli village (Terter District); three days later, they killed 7-year-old Aysu Iskandarova and 16-year old Shahmali Rahimov in Qarayusifli and Yeni Ayrija villages (Barda District).
As reported by Azerbaijan's official sources, the 17 October rocket attack on Ganja destroyed over 20 residential houses.
Those children who survived the bombardments also had a sad lot. Some kids lost a parent and some lost both. One of them is three-year-old Khadija, who got orphaned after the 17 October rocket strike on Ganja; her mother, father and elder sister died under the rubble.
The house she was brought up in was destroyed by the blast. The orphaned child was adopted by her grandparents who reside in a township 20 km away from Ganja.
Little Khadija featured in the BBC report. "Khadija's blue eyes look tired and a little bit swollen. Debris from the blast got stuck in her eyes, she could not open them for three days. Now, thanks to the doctors, Khadija can see the world that fell apart overnight", the report writes.
"She now sleeps beside me, and she says to me: Granddad, can you go get Mommy! But how can I go get her? How would I tell her Mommy is no more?", says Hadija's grandfather Nizami Aghayev. The man covers his face with his hands so people could not see he is crying.
UNICEF psychologists who have worked with children-survivors of bombardments in Ganja, Aghjabadi and long the entire frontline highlight the importance of timely psychological support in such cases. Failure to provide psychological help in time can have serious consequences, affecting the child's self-esteem, reactions and ability to communicate with others.
"Many children who have survived the bombing or the loss of loved ones and other realities of armed conflict have problems with speech; aggression may increase, or on the contrary, depression", says Rada Gafarova, who coordinated the UNICEF project on social assistance for children in Aghjabadi.
"There are examples when teenage children were forced to wear diapers because of incontinence", she adds.
Psychologists also describe situations when survived children are consumed by guilt for their dead friends and family members. One such case is detailed in an article that tells about deep feelings of a teenager whose friend Artur Mayakov died in Ganja.
"He might have survived. I feel guilty. I could have asked him to stay with us that night. Maybe then, he would not have died… We had so many plans", UNICEF's webpage writes, citing a 14-year-old-boy whose name is kept anonymous because of ethical considerations.
According to Rada Gafarova, a psychological trauma can develop within minutes, but sometimes it takes many months of psychological rehabilitation to help a child get rid of the stress experienced within this short time.
Appraisal From The Standpoint of International Humanitarian Law
As reported by the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan, Armenian military forces used cluster munitions against Azerbaijani towns and villages. Used against troops in the field, they are prohibited by most countries of the world as they pose risks to civilians in residential areas.
The Armenian side never made a secret that they were in gross violation of all international laws of war. Both Armenian military officials and Karabakh's puppet authorities openly stated they targeted civilians in Azerbaijan.
In his October 2020 interview with Vesti TV channel (Russia), Vagarshak Harutunyan, Chief Military Advisor to the Prime Minister of Armenia, openly said: "The tactic we have developed was to strike artillery divisions, take out AA systems and then proceed with shelling of residential areas to cause panic."
A similar statement came around the same time from the "leader" of Karabakh's separatist regime Arayik Harutyunyan, who said the Armenian side "will be forced to operate deep inland [of Azerbaijan]."
Rules of war and consequences thereof are governed by the International Humanitarian Law, notably the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and Additional Protocols thereto. Pursuant to these documents, firing at populated localities represents a violation of rules of war.
These documents protect people that do not (civilians, doctors, nurses and aid workers) or have ceased to take part in operations of war, for instance wounded, sick or shipwrecked soldiers and prisoners of war.
Having signed the Geneva Conventions, Armenia has assumed the legal obligation to abide, in all circumstances, by the rules set out therein. But in reality, the second Karabakh war saw Armenia totally violate the entire body of regulations set out under International Humanitarian Law; notably the prohibitions to populate occupied territories, attack civilians and civil infrastructure, including rocket and artillery strikes on towns and villages outside the combat zone, as well use widely banned cluster munitions, etc.
What Armenian military forces did was a stark disregard for each and every point of humanitarian law. The use of children as soldiers in the standoff was another flagrant violation of fundamental principles of "Geneva laws".
It stands to mention that International Humanitarian Law sets a lot of store by the protection of children in armed conflict situations, prescribing both general and special protection to that end.
The latter is guaranteed by Article 77 of Additional Protocol I, which prescribes: "Children shall be the object of special respect and shall be protected against any form of indecent assault. The Parties to the conflict shall provide them with the care and aid they require, whether because of their age or for any other reason."
Prof. Ayten Mustafazade, Director of the Institute of Law and Human Rights of ANAS, says that over 30 years of Karabakh's occupation, Azerbaijan has watched as Armenia shows to the entire world how little it cares about international law and resolutions of international organizations that recognize Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territories and call upon Armenia to immediately withdraw occupation forces.
"These include the resolutions of the Council of Europe, the European Union, the European Court of Human Rights, and, most importantly, the four essential resolutions issued by United Nations Security Council in 1993. But no matter how many documents and resolutions have been passed, they remained but on paper as Armenia shows a flagrant disrespect for the entire international community by ignoring them altogether", Prof. Mustafazade said in her 5 October 2020 interview.
Contrary to the 1990s, when Azerbaijan did not see the war coming and could collect only a few evidences of Armenian military crimes, such data were proactively collected this time, during the 44-day war in 2020. According to Prof. Mustafazade, they all will be used to file a claim to the International Military Tribunal.
"Armenian war criminals shall be brought to accountability", she said.
The Armenian side never made a secret that they were in gross violation of all international laws of war. Both Armenian military officials and Karabakh's puppet authorities openly stated they targeted civilians in Azerbaijan.
In his October 2020 interview with Vesti TV channel (Russia), Vagarshak Harutunyan, Chief Military Advisor to the Prime Minister of Armenia, openly said: "The tactic we have developed was to strike artillery divisions, take out AA systems and then proceed with shelling of residential areas to cause panic."
A similar statement came around the same time from the "leader" of Karabakh's separatist regime Arayik Harutyunyan, who said the Armenian side "will be forced to operate deep inland [of Azerbaijan]."
Rules of war and consequences thereof are governed by the International Humanitarian Law, notably the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and Additional Protocols thereto. Pursuant to these documents, firing at populated localities represents a violation of rules of war.
These documents protect people that do not (civilians, doctors, nurses and aid workers) or have ceased to take part in operations of war, for instance wounded, sick or shipwrecked soldiers and prisoners of war.
Having signed the Geneva Conventions, Armenia has assumed the legal obligation to abide, in all circumstances, by the rules set out therein. But in reality, the second Karabakh war saw Armenia totally violate the entire body of regulations set out under International Humanitarian Law; notably the prohibitions to populate occupied territories, attack civilians and civil infrastructure, including rocket and artillery strikes on towns and villages outside the combat zone, as well use widely banned cluster munitions, etc.
What Armenian military forces did was a stark disregard for each and every point of humanitarian law. The use of children as soldiers in the standoff was another flagrant violation of fundamental principles of "Geneva laws".
It stands to mention that International Humanitarian Law sets a lot of store by the protection of children in armed conflict situations, prescribing both general and special protection to that end.
The latter is guaranteed by Article 77 of Additional Protocol I, which prescribes: "Children shall be the object of special respect and shall be protected against any form of indecent assault. The Parties to the conflict shall provide them with the care and aid they require, whether because of their age or for any other reason."
Prof. Ayten Mustafazade, Director of the Institute of Law and Human Rights of ANAS, says that over 30 years of Karabakh's occupation, Azerbaijan has watched as Armenia shows to the entire world how little it cares about international law and resolutions of international organizations that recognize Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territories and call upon Armenia to immediately withdraw occupation forces.
"These include the resolutions of the Council of Europe, the European Union, the European Court of Human Rights, and, most importantly, the four essential resolutions issued by United Nations Security Council in 1993. But no matter how many documents and resolutions have been passed, they remained but on paper as Armenia shows a flagrant disrespect for the entire international community by ignoring them altogether", Prof. Mustafazade said in her 5 October 2020 interview.
Contrary to the 1990s, when Azerbaijan did not see the war coming and could collect only a few evidences of Armenian military crimes, such data were proactively collected this time, during the 44-day war in 2020. According to Prof. Mustafazade, they all will be used to file a claim to the International Military Tribunal.
"Armenian war criminals shall be brought to accountability", she said.
World's Reaction to Armenian Terror in 2020
Working in the region during the 44-day Patriotic War, global media unanimously confirmed that there were no military facilities in the areas hit by rockets in Azerbaijani towns, just civilian homes and shops.
BBC crew visited Ganja after the fourth bombardment on the night of 11 October 2020. This is how famous TV correspondent Orla Guerin covered the scene in her report:
BBC crew visited Ganja after the fourth bombardment on the night of 11 October 2020. This is how famous TV correspondent Orla Guerin covered the scene in her report:
"Now the buildings here are clearly residential. There were apartments, where the people were asleep in their beds when the attack happened at about 2 a.m. local time", she says, pointing at the ruins of a house behind her back, "We've seen mattresses and blankets strewn around in the rubble. This was clearly a very large-scale attack, And we've seen no sign of any kind of military targets in this area."
"There is supposed to be a truce in place, mediated by Russia, but when you look around here, it looks far more like all-out war", says Orla Guerin.
Earlier that day, she wrote a short tweet, saying, inter alia, that her crew had seen no sign of any military targets in the area that was hit, just civilian homes and shops.
Covering the consequences of 27 and 28 October 2020 attacks on Barda was, among other journalists, CNN Türk correspondent Fulya Öztürk. She also confirmed the attacks had hit the central streets of the city.
"We are right in the center of Barda; Armenians hit the city with 6 rockets; people are injured and shell-shocked, cars are burning", says Fulya in her report from the city that saw rocket strikes claiming the lives of 21 people.
"People are shell-shocked, wounded are run to hospitals, cars are burning", she describes, "There are only houses and stores around here. People are requested to keep off, for Armenians may strike again... Behold, world! Do not turn your back on what you see. Look how the terrorist country of Armenia fires at innocent people, how it commits crimes against humanity."
The world-renowned photograph Reza Deghati, who was working in front-line areas of Azerbaijan, made a picture story from the rocket-stricken Barda. His story - another proof that it was only civilian facilities that were targeted by Armenians - had the following description:
"This boy is holding his mother. They went to the grocery store together while the father, the husband stayed in the car patiently. He patiently waited for his son and wife to come back. Probably was he thinking about the upcoming evening, what they will do with what they bought. Patient he was, he only didn't know he'll soon meet with the angel of death. A bomb hit his car and burned him alive in front of his family."
Photo: Reza Deghati
International organizations also reacted to lawless actions committed by Armenian military forces. On 2 November 2020, the UN webpage published an article titled "Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: Bachelet warns of possible war crimes as attacks continue in populated areas" by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet.
"The biggest single loss of life was on 28 October, when 21 people were reported killed and 70 others injured in a rocket attack on the Azerbaijani town of Barda, located some 30km from the area of active hostilities. The rockets, allegedly fired by Armenian forces from Nagorno-Karabakh, reportedly carried cluster munitions. Due to their effects, the use of cluster munitions in populated areas would be incompatible with the international humanitarian law principles governing the conduct of hostilities", the article writes.
"International humanitarian law cannot be clearer. Attacks carried out in violation of the principle of distinction or the principle of proportionality may amount to war crimes, and the parties to the conflict are obliged to effectively, promptly, thoroughly and impartially investigate such violations and to prosecute those alleged to have committed them", the article states.
The use of cluster munitions with phosphorus against Azerbaijan's civilians by Armenian military forces was recorded and confirmed by international human rights organizations, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch among them.
Published on 11 December 2020, the Human Rights Watch report writes that Armenian forces used artillery rockets tactical missiles to launch indiscriminate attacks on the territory of Azerbaijan.
During on-site investigations in Azerbaijan in November, Human Rights Watch documented 11 incidents in which Armenian forces used ballistic missiles, unguided artillery rockets, and large-caliber artillery projectiles that hit populated areas in apparent indiscriminate attacks. In at least four other cases, munitions struck civilians or civilian objects in areas where there were no apparent military targets.
The governmental Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) found that unguided Smerch artillery rockets and Scud-B ballistic missiles were used in attacks on Ganja between 4 and 17 October, killing 26 civilians.
According to the HRW report, 8K14 (or Scud-B by NATO classification) missiles, which can carry a high-explosive warhead, can miss their intended target by at least 500 meters.
"Attacks using weapons that cannot be directed at a specific military objective and so do not distinguish military targets from civilians and civilian objects, are indiscriminate, violating the laws of war", the report writes.
The laws of war require attackers to issue effective warnings of attacks affecting civilians. Witnesses to attacks said they were not aware of warnings from Armenian forces.
HRW states that on October 4, leader of Karabakh's separatist regime Arayik Harutyunyan issued tweets in English calling on civilians "to avoid inevitable loss" by leaving "large cities," including Ganja, where military forces would be attacked. Threats of attacks on unspecified targets over an unspecified period, in a language few Azerbaijani civilians can read, were not effective warnings", the report maintains.
"The biggest single loss of life was on 28 October, when 21 people were reported killed and 70 others injured in a rocket attack on the Azerbaijani town of Barda, located some 30km from the area of active hostilities. The rockets, allegedly fired by Armenian forces from Nagorno-Karabakh, reportedly carried cluster munitions. Due to their effects, the use of cluster munitions in populated areas would be incompatible with the international humanitarian law principles governing the conduct of hostilities", the article writes.
"International humanitarian law cannot be clearer. Attacks carried out in violation of the principle of distinction or the principle of proportionality may amount to war crimes, and the parties to the conflict are obliged to effectively, promptly, thoroughly and impartially investigate such violations and to prosecute those alleged to have committed them", the article states.
The use of cluster munitions with phosphorus against Azerbaijan's civilians by Armenian military forces was recorded and confirmed by international human rights organizations, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch among them.
Published on 11 December 2020, the Human Rights Watch report writes that Armenian forces used artillery rockets tactical missiles to launch indiscriminate attacks on the territory of Azerbaijan.
During on-site investigations in Azerbaijan in November, Human Rights Watch documented 11 incidents in which Armenian forces used ballistic missiles, unguided artillery rockets, and large-caliber artillery projectiles that hit populated areas in apparent indiscriminate attacks. In at least four other cases, munitions struck civilians or civilian objects in areas where there were no apparent military targets.
The governmental Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) found that unguided Smerch artillery rockets and Scud-B ballistic missiles were used in attacks on Ganja between 4 and 17 October, killing 26 civilians.
According to the HRW report, 8K14 (or Scud-B by NATO classification) missiles, which can carry a high-explosive warhead, can miss their intended target by at least 500 meters.
"Attacks using weapons that cannot be directed at a specific military objective and so do not distinguish military targets from civilians and civilian objects, are indiscriminate, violating the laws of war", the report writes.
The laws of war require attackers to issue effective warnings of attacks affecting civilians. Witnesses to attacks said they were not aware of warnings from Armenian forces.
HRW states that on October 4, leader of Karabakh's separatist regime Arayik Harutyunyan issued tweets in English calling on civilians "to avoid inevitable loss" by leaving "large cities," including Ganja, where military forces would be attacked. Threats of attacks on unspecified targets over an unspecified period, in a language few Azerbaijani civilians can read, were not effective warnings", the report maintains.
"Armenian forces repeatedly launched missiles, unguided rockets, and heavy artillery into populated cities and villages in violation of the laws of war," said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia Director at Human Rights Watch. "Again and again in the course of the six-week war, these attacks unlawfully destroyed civilian lives and homes and should be impartially investigated."
Armenia's Crimes During First Karabakh war
Back in 1987-88, before the Armenian-Azerbaijan conflict broke out, Armenian authorities forcibly deported almost 250-thousand Azerbaijani population from Armenia. As a result, Armenia became the region's only "ethnically clean" state.
In the 1990s, as the Soviet Union was on the brink of collapse, Armenians used the generally unstable situation and a political vacuum in Azerbaijan and commenced taking over towns and villages both within Nagorno-Karabakh and outside it, even in Azerbaijan's regions where Armenians had never resided before. The armed phase of the conflict, which lasted from 1991 through 1994, saw a large-scale massacre of the local Azerbaijani population.
Not discriminating between combatants and civilians, the invaders would mercilessly kill Azerbaijani civilians in districts and towns they were taking over.
Merciless massacres of the peaceful population were committed in Masahli village (Askeran District), Malibayli and Gushchular villages (Shusha District), Garabaghli village (Khojavend District), Aghdaban village (Kalbajar District) and in other localities. Armenian invaders thereby sought to wipe out a part of Azerbaijan's population, break the back of the rest of the country, and ultimately cleanse the region from Azerbaijani nationals.
One of the most bloody episodes during the first Karabakh war occurred on the night from 25 to 26 February 1992, when Armenian military forces, backed by the former USSR's 366th Motorized Infantry Regiment, stormed the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly.
That night the town of Khojaly, located within the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of Azerbaijan, saw the brutal slaughter of 613 civilians, including 106 women, 63 children and 70 elders who were fleeing the massacre through snow-capped mountain passes. Over 1000 non-combatants sustained injuries, 8 families were murdered to the last member. 56 people were tortured to death.
In the 1990s, as the Soviet Union was on the brink of collapse, Armenians used the generally unstable situation and a political vacuum in Azerbaijan and commenced taking over towns and villages both within Nagorno-Karabakh and outside it, even in Azerbaijan's regions where Armenians had never resided before. The armed phase of the conflict, which lasted from 1991 through 1994, saw a large-scale massacre of the local Azerbaijani population.
Not discriminating between combatants and civilians, the invaders would mercilessly kill Azerbaijani civilians in districts and towns they were taking over.
Merciless massacres of the peaceful population were committed in Masahli village (Askeran District), Malibayli and Gushchular villages (Shusha District), Garabaghli village (Khojavend District), Aghdaban village (Kalbajar District) and in other localities. Armenian invaders thereby sought to wipe out a part of Azerbaijan's population, break the back of the rest of the country, and ultimately cleanse the region from Azerbaijani nationals.
One of the most bloody episodes during the first Karabakh war occurred on the night from 25 to 26 February 1992, when Armenian military forces, backed by the former USSR's 366th Motorized Infantry Regiment, stormed the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly.
That night the town of Khojaly, located within the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of Azerbaijan, saw the brutal slaughter of 613 civilians, including 106 women, 63 children and 70 elders who were fleeing the massacre through snow-capped mountain passes. Over 1000 non-combatants sustained injuries, 8 families were murdered to the last member. 56 people were tortured to death.
Azerbaijani refugees from Armenia, IDPs from Khankendi and Meskhetian Turks who found a shelter in Khojaly were slaughtered alongside Khojaly's dwellers that tragic night.
Directly involved in the invasion and massacre of Khojaly's population were both Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan, who at that time was the head of the "Defense Committee" with the puppet regime.
Available on The New York Times' webpage, the archived material dated 3 March 1992 writes, inter alia, that "dozens of bodies scattered over the area lent credence to Azerbaijani reports of a massacre. Scalping [has been] reported."
Reuters photographer Frederic Lengein said she had seen in vicinity of Agdam two trucks choke-full with dead bodies of Azerbaijani people.
The 1992 Khojaly massacre was described by Human Rights Watch as "the largest massacre to date in the conflict" between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Notably, the tragedy occurred the next day after Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati arrived on 25 February 1992 in Baku and the parties promised during a phone conversation to declare a ceasefire from 27 February through 9:00 AM on 1 March.
Another treacherous attack was committed on Shusha, a symbol of Karabakh and its cultural hub. The town was stormed in May 1992 not long after the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed on an armistice in Tehran.
Armenia subsequently violated an armistice agreed upon in October 1993 through the intermediary of Iranian President Ali Rafsanjani. In his book "Life and Freedom: Autobiography of ex-President of Armenia and Karabakh", former President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan wrote: "We eventually managed to make a use of the "truce window" in October 1993; it was then that, having negotiated a truce, we established a de-facto control over Zangilan."
During the first Karabakh war, Armenian invaders razed hundreds of kindergartens and schools to the ground. The war claimed the lives of 193 children; hundreds of children were wounded. But even after the military phase of the conflict was over, civilians, children among them, still kept on dying throughout the 27-year truce period.
Playing in his backyard in March of 2011, 9-year-old Fariz Badalov was shot in the head by a sniper and died on the way to the hospital. In July of the same year, 13-year-old Aygun Shahmaliyeva was killed by the blast of an explosive-packed toy that had floated from the Armenian side down the river and was washed ashore. The similar case occurred back in 1994, when an explosive-packed toy killed 2 Azerbaijani kids and wounded another child.
14-year-old Shalala Taghiyeva was wounded in the leg by a bullet in Goyali village (Goranboy District). Armenians also wounded 10-year-old Kohne Qishlaq village (Agstafa District) dweller Goshgar Abbasov and 14-year-old Mulkulu village (Tovuz District) dweller Sarkhan Ismayilov.
Armenian military forces used mortars and and grenade machineguns to pound Alkhanli village (Fuzuli District) in the evening of 4 July 2017. This provocation killed 18-month-old Zahra Guliyeva and her grandmother Sahiba Allahverdiyeva.
It was not until the photographs of the victims were published that the Armenian side confirmed the attack. Senor Hasratyan, the representative of the so-called "defense ministry" of the Karabakh puppet regime, cynically commented on this tragedy "children die sometimes".
Let alone a bit less blasphemous statement that had come from the mouth of Serzh Sargsyan, the former President of Armenia. Interviewed by British journalist Thomas de Waal, who subsequently authored the book "Black Garden. Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War", he said:
"Before Khojali, Azerbaijanis thought they could play tricks with us; they thought Armenians would never touch civilians. We were able to break that [stereotype]."
Let alone a bit less blasphemous statement that had come from the mouth of Serzh Sargsyan, the former President of Armenia. Interviewed by British journalist Thomas de Waal, who subsequently authored the book "Black Garden. Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War", he said:
"Before Khojali, Azerbaijanis thought they could play tricks with us; they thought Armenians would never touch civilians. We were able to break that [stereotype]."
The Full List of Rocket Strike Victims:
Source: General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan
7 October 2021
7 October 2021
