Over one million displaced people, about 30,000 victims, more than 8,000 wounded: these are some of the consequences of the 1988-1994 ethnic war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The renewal of hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh region is likely to result in a new massacre.
Strategically placed between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh enclave has always been politically disputed. Today, two factions pretend to control the region: on the one side, the Armenians, who rely on the right of a people to self-determination and believe that the Nagorno-Karabakh region should be independent; on the other side, the Azerbaijani government and the International Community, that deny the recognition of the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh and consider it a natural part of the Azerbaijani state.
Over time, hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan have resulted in multiple atrocities. While both states are party to the Four Geneva Conventions, they have been accused of breaching ceasefires and performing acts that amount to war crimes. In February 1992, in the Khojaly massacre, the Armenian armed forces brutally killed 161 Azerbaijani civilians. Similarly, in April 1992, in the village of Maraga, the Azerbaijani troops tortured and mutilated over a hundred people, including women, children, and the elderly.
On September 27, 2020, after years of sporadic fighting, the conflict broke out again. As Amnesty International reported, the resumption of hostilities has already caused the death of dozens of persons on both sides. Within a short time, the conflict has given birth also to massive refugee flows. Hundreds of people have started to cross the border to Armenia to escape from war.
While the Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres has urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to end the hostilities, condemning the use of military force and any attack against the civilian population, concrete action is required to prevent a new massacre.
By Simone M. Russo