Azerbaijan

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Azerbaijan claims full control over the Nagorno-Karabakh region as Armenian forces agree to disarm

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Azerbaijan claimed full control of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region Wednesday after local Armenian forces there agreed to lay down their weapons following the latest outbreak of fighting in the decades-long separatist conflict.

https://apnews.com/article/azerbaijan-armenia-explosions-nagornokarabakh-73df9b8b03c3748868e2e358b67bd018?

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The fall of an enclave in Azerbaijan stuns the Armenian diaspora, extinguishing a dream The swift fall of the Armenian-majority enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani troops and exodus of much of the population has stunned the large Armenian diaspora around the world. Traumatized by genocide a century ago, they fear the erasure of what they consider a central part of their historic homeland. Read more.

Why this matters: The separatist ethnic Armenian government in Nagorno-Karabakh on Thursday announced it was dissolving and the unrecognized republic will cease to exist by year’s end, a seeming death knell for its 30-year de-facto independence. Armenians say the loss is a historic blow.   Azerbaijan pledged to respect the rights of the territory’s Armenian community, but 74,400 people, over 60% of Nagorno-Karabakh’s population, had fled to Armenia by Thursday morning, officials said. Many Armenians fear a new wave of ethnic cleansing, accusing the Armenian government and other European governments of failing to protect the territory they call Artsakh.   In Los Angeles, one of the world’s largest Armenian diaspora communities has staged several protests. Kim Kardashian, perhaps the best known Armenian-American today, has urged President Joe Biden “to Stop Another Armenian Genocide.”

Related coverage ➤ Why this week’s mass exodus from embattled Nagorno-Karabakh reflects decades of animosity Over half of Nagorno-Karabakh’s population flees as the separatist government says it will dissolve AP PHOTOS: Tens of thousands of Armenians flee in mass exodus from breakaway region of Azerbaijan

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Israeli arms quietly helped Azerbaijan retake Nagorno-Karabakh Israel has quietly helped fuel Azerbaijan’s campaign to recapture Nagorno-Karabakh, supplying powerful weapons to Azerbaijan ahead of its lightning offensive last month that brought the ethnic Armenian enclave back under its control, officials and experts say. Read more.

Why this matters: Weeks before Azerbaijan's Sept. 19 assault, Azerbaijani military planes made repeated flights between an Israeli airbase and a nearby Nagorno-Karabakh airfield, as revealed by flight tracking data and Armenian diplomats. The flights rattled Armenian officials in Yerevan, long wary of the strategic alliance between the two countries, and shined a light on Israel’s stake in Azerbaijan, which serves as a critical source of oil, a lucrative customer of sophisticated arms, and a staunch ally against Israel’s archenemy Iran.   The Azerbaijani offensive killed over 200 Armenians, the vast majority of them fighters, and some 200 Azerbaijani troops, according to officials. The fighting also prompted over 100,000 people — more than 80% of the enclave’s ethnic Armenian residents — to flee in the last two weeks.

Related coverage ➤ Azerbaijan arrests several former top separatist leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh Azerbaijan moves to reaffirm control of Nagorno-Karabakh as the Armenian exodus slows to a trickle Almost all of Nagorno-Karabakh’s people have left, Armenia’s government says

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Aviation experts say Russia’s air defense fire likely caused Azerbaijan plane crash as nation mourns

Aviation experts said Thursday that Russian air defense fire was likely responsible for the Azerbaijani plane crash the day before that killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured.

https://apnews.com/article/azerbaijan-airliner-crash-aktau-kazakstan-embraer-872800d95273ee96e0950192a32e5228?

Azerbaijani and U.S. officials suggest plane that crashed may have been hit by weapons fire

Russian air defense systems may have brought down an Azerbaijani airliner this week, a U.S. official said Friday after an Azerbaijani minister also suggested the plane was hit by a weapon, citing expert analysis and survivor accounts.

https://apnews.com/article/azerbaijan-airliner-crash-aktau-kazakhstan-russia-embraer-f23c1bb34a3c6911be5d00ae8fdccbdc?