Loud shelling was audible from unverified social media footage filmed in Stepanakert, the capital of Karabakh, called Khankendi by Azerbaijan, on Tuesday.
Azerbaijan’s defense ministry spoke in a statement of its intention to “disarm and secure the withdrawal of formations of Armenia’s armed forces from our territories, (and) neutralize their military infrastructure.”
Azerbaijan recaptured swathes of land in and around it in a 2020 war, but ethnic Armenian authorities who see the area as their ancestral homeland remained in control of part of Karabakh, including its capital.
Baku announced its operation after complaining that six of its citizens had been killed by land mines in two separate incidents, something it blamed on “illegal Armenian armed groups.”
The escalation occurred a day after badly needed food and medicine was delivered to Karabakh along two roads simultaneously, a step that looked like it could help ease mounting tension between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Until the last few days, Baku had imposed sweeping restrictions on the Lachin corridor — the only road linking Armenia with Karabakh — and had not allowed in aid on the grounds that the route was purportedly being used for arms smuggling.
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