Conflict erupts in Nagorno-Karabakh, bordering Armenia and Azerbaijan; it has been brewing quietly - and not so quietly - for the past few decades, but could stretch more than 100 years into the past.
Cristian Carlos Juarez. Peninsula 360 Press.
Sunday, September 27th. According to the latest reports, the conflict on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan began when Armenian military forces declared that they had shot down two military helicopters of Azeri origin, as well as attacks directed at three war tanks that would have been destroyed, as shown in a video.
Warning, the following footage was released by Artsakh's defences. Discretion is suggested.
Azerbaijan and Armenia used to be Soviet states. During the soviet, Stalin put the control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region (also known as Artsakhincluding adjacent areas) in the hands of Soviet Azerbaijan. However, the region is and has long been of Armenian origin, as is its dominant language, currency and religion.
Azerbaijan, meanwhile, is 97% Muslim; Artsakh is 98% apostolic Christian with Armenian rootsThe establishment of borders without taking into consideration the ethnicity and national heritage of the people living in these regions, for many of their inhabitants, represents a huge lack of respect.
With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, in 1991, Artsakh became part of Azerbaijan. The Republic of Artsakh, however, is governed by its own laws, but under the lens of international opinion it remains part of Azerbaijan.
This is not a recent conflict. Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought each other in the region since the first fall of the Russian Empire, and declared war on each other in 1920. The situation cooled down when the Soviets took control of both nations, but the conflict remained in hibernation.
When the Soviets lost control of both countries, Azerbaijan declared itself independent from the USSR and Artsakh, at the same time, declared itself independent from Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan, of course, was not satisfied, and so Azerbaijan and Armenia - in dispute over Artsakh - went to war for about six years, with heavy fighting from 1992 to 1994.
In the end, Armenia was positioned as the winner; they regained control of Artsakh, but not only that, but a 9% of Azerbaijan thanks to a strong military presence not officially, as they did not claim the region as their own; they just kept their troops and there was not much Azerbaijan could do about it.
