Select date
Nagorno-Karabakh fighting spreads: Yerevan says it shot down Azeri drone near CAPITAL after airstrike kills man in Armenia
Fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia spilled over from the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, as the government in Yerevan claimed to have shot down four Azeri drones after an airstrike killed a man inside Armenia proper.
Armenian authorities said that four drones operated by Azerbaijan appeared on Thursday in the sky over the Kotayk province bordering the nation’s capital city, as well as the Gegharkunik province across the border from Nagorno-Karabakh.
Three of them had been destroyed earlier in the day, and the fourth was shot down near Yerevan later in the evening, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced on Facebook. Video of the explosion quickly made its way to social media.
“Remain calm, air defenses are at work,” Armenian Defense Ministry representative Artsrun Hovhannisyan wrote on Facebook, urging the population of Yerevan not to panic. “Sometimes air defense missiles make a lot of noise, but don’t worry. They’re effective.”
One of the drones had fired a missile at the village of Mets Masrik, near the border with Nagorno-Karabakh, killing a 53-year-old man and injuring two civilians, Defense Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said. The nearby village of Shatvan, also inside Armenia proper, came under artillery fire.
Also on rt.com Two journalists from Paris daily 'Le Monde' seriously injured in Azerbaijani strike on Nagorno-Karabakh, one in ‘grave’ condition
The incidents represent an escalation of the fighting, which had previously been limited to the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The latest flare-up began on Sunday, with both sides blaming each other for the violence. Azerbaijan’s military operation has been openly supported by Ankara, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying that “the occupation of Karabakh must be put to an end.”
Rocket artillery duels in Nagorno-Karabakh have caused collateral damage in nearby Iran as well, damaging several houses near the border, RT correspondent Murad Gazdiev reported.
Several Western media outlets have reported that Turkey has deployed militants from Syria as mercenaries in Azerbaijan. Moscow and Paris also cited intelligence to that effect, though Ankara and Baku have both denied the allegations as “Armenian propaganda.”
An enclave predominantly populated by Armenians, Nagorno-Karabakh seceded from Soviet Azerbaijan in 1988. A bitter war in 1991-94 left most of Nagorno-Karabakh under ethnic Armenian control, along with a territory linking it to Armenia proper.
Also on rt.com Azerbaijan & Armenia at war: What you need to know about bloody conflict over long-disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh (MAP)
Like this story? Share it with a friend!
