Chronicles of Victory: Lookback to fifth week of second Karabakh war
By Sabina Mammadli
- President Ilham Aliyev gave an interview to the US Fox News TV channel
- The Armenian Armed Forces fired at a school building in Azerbaijan’s Aghdam district
- One of the dead in Barda was an 8-year-old child
- A meeting between Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan took place in Geneva
On September 27, 2020, in response to a large-scale provocation of the Armenian armed forces along the frontline, the Azerbaijani army launched a counter-offensive operation, later dubbed Iron Fist.
The 44-day war put an end to the nearly 30-year-long occupation and secured the liberation of Azerbaijani lands and the restoration of the country's territorial integrity.
The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. A Moscow-brokered ceasefire deal from November 10, 2020, stipulated the return of Azerbaijan's Armenian-occupied Kalbajar, Aghdam, and Lachin Districts and obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s. Before the signing of the deal, the Azerbaijani army had liberated around 300 villages, settlements, city centers, and the historical Shusha city.
Here’s how the fifth week of the war played out:
Chronicles of Victory: October 25
President Ilham Aliyev gave an interview to the US Fox News TV channel.
Azerbaijani Army liberated several villages of the Zangilan, Jabrayil, and Gubadli Districts, as well as the city of Gubadly from Armenian occupation.
Azerbaijani President held an operation meeting at the Central Command Post of Defense Ministry with the participation of the ministry’s leadership and commanders of the joint corps located in the frontline. During the meeting, President Aliyev informed about the liberation of some parts of the Kalbajar and Gubadly Districts from Armenian occupation.
A list of destroyed Armenia's military equipment has been announced.
Non-governmental organizations operating in Azerbaijan appealed to the Executive Director of UNICEF, Chairman of the Board of the International Organization for the Rescue of Children, President of the International Bureau for the Rights of the Child, President of SOS International Children's Villages, Executive Director of the Global Fund for Children in connection with the use of children under the age of 15 by Armenia in the war.
Chronicles of Victory: October 26
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was interviewed by the Italian Rai-1 TV channel.
The Armenian armed forces shelled Azerbaijani units using artillery, violating the ceasefire. Further, Armenia shelled Tartar with 'Smerch' missiles.
The Armenian Armed Forces fired at a school building in Azerbaijan’s Aghdam district. As a result, the building was greatly damaged.
An Armenian drone was destroyed. Air defense units of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces neutralized one of the three missiles fired by the Armenian Armed Forces at Azerbaijan’s Tartar city.
A video of the liberated villages of Padar and Khanlig in the Gubadli district was released.
Chronicles of Victory: October 27
The chief of staff of the Armenian motorized infantry division was killed. The list of destroyed military equipment of the Armenian armed forces has been announced.
Tartar city and the villages of the Tartar district were shelled, as well as the territories of the Goranboy and Barda districts.
The death toll from the Armenian missile attack in Barda has reached five. One of the dead in Barda was an 8-year-old child. The Defense Ministry said that over the past day, Armenian armed forces repeatedly violated the humanitarian ceasefire.
The Azerbaijani army liberated four cities, four settlements, and 165 villages in just one month.
Armenians began calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Pashinyan and the whole government.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry has appealed to international organizations over Armenia’s using children as soldiers. The appeal was made following the videos widely spread on social media that clearly demonstrate the fact that Armenia employs children as soldiers in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
Chronicles of Victory: October 28
The Azerbaijani Army liberated several villages in Zangilan, Jabrayil, and Gubadli districts from the Armenian occupation.
President Ilham Aliyev gave an interview to Russia's Interfax news agency.
Presidential aide Hikmat Hajiyev has been interviewed by Al Jazeera TV channel.
The Armenian Armed Forces launched missile strikes on Barda city. The strikes were made using the Smerch missile systems, as a result of which 21 civilians were killed and 70 others were injured.
The territory of Azerbaijan's Tartar district came under enemy artillery fire using the Smerch multiple-launch missile system. There are no casualties.
Seven-year-old Aysu Isgandarova, who died as a result of a missile attack on the Garayusifli settlement of Azerbaijan’s Barda district, was buried in the village cemetery.
Chronicles of Victory: October 29
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araqchi have discussed border security.
Azerbaijani defense Ministry announced that during the day and at nighttime, a large number of enemy forces, 2 - T-72 tanks, 2 - BM-21 "Grad" MLRS, 14 different types of howitzers, several strongholds, and 6 auto vehicles in different directions of the front were destroyed and wrecked.
Azerbaijani Air Defense Units shot down two Su-25 fighter jets of the Armenian armed forces.
Employees of the National Agency for Mine Action in Azerbaijan (ANAMA) have collected the debris of the missiles that were fired at Barda on October 29, 2020.
Armenian armed forces once again shelled Azerbaijan's Barda and Goranboy Districts. Azerbaijan’s Presidential aide Hikmat Hajiyev, the Prosecutor-General, and foreign diplomats in the country visited Barda city which came under Armenian missile attacks on October 28 and 29. The attacks have killed 25 civilians, including a Red Cross volunteer.
One more Azerbaijani civilian was killed by Armenian Armed Forces in the Tap village of the Goranboy District.
Chronicles of Victory: October 30
The Azerbaijani army units have destroyed Armenia’s Smerch multiple rocket launchers which had fired at the peaceful population and civilian infrastructure in the city of Barda.
A fire broke out in the forest area in the Gokgol District and in the forest zone of the Goranboy District, due to artillery fire from the Armenian Armed Forces.
Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces liberated Khudaverdili, Gurbantepe, Shahvelendi, Khubyarli villages of Jabrayil District, Aladin and Vejneli villages of Zangilan District, and Kavdadiq, Memer and Mollali villages of the District.
A meeting between Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan took place in Geneva.
Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor-General informed that seven families were killed so far as a result of Armenian shelling on civilian areas.
Chronicles of Victory: October 31
During the day on October 30 and night on October 31, the Armenian armed forces fired at the positions of the units of the Azerbaijan Army and Azerbaijani human settlements in different directions of the front using various weapons, including artillery and missiles. In turn, a large number of Armenian armed forces, 2 T-72 tanks, 3 infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), 2 "Smerch" and 1 BM-21 "Grad" MLRS, 12 different types of howitzers, 1 - "OSA" anti-aircraft missile system, 1 electronic warfare station and 2 auto vehicles were destroyed.
On October 31, at 06:00, Armenia fired artillery shells at the Tartar, Aghdam, and Aghjabedi districts.
Co-Chairs met separately and jointly with Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov in Geneva on October 30
During the Geneva meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers in Geneva, the sides agreed not to deliberately target civilian populations, to actively engage in the implementation of the recovery and exchange of remains on the battlefield by providing the ICRC and PRCiO the necessary safety guarantees for facilitation; to deliver to the ICRC and PRCiO, within one week, a list of currently detained prisoners of war for the purposes of providing access and eventual exchange; to provide in writing comments and questions related to possible ceasefire verification mechanisms in accordance with item 2 of the October 10 joint statement.
Azerbaijani border guards raised the state flag of Azerbaijan in ‘Soltanli’, ‘Khalafli’, ‘Khudaferin’, and ‘Gumlag’ outposts in the mostly liberated Jabrayil and Zangilan districts on October 30.
Young Azerbaijani developers created a special website to fight the spread of Armenian fake news. To prevent such cases, the website www.fake.az was developed for the mass filing of complaints.
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Sabina Mammadli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SabinaMmdl
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