Armenian authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh revealed that the death toll from the Azerbaijani one-day military operation in the region has risen to 200 dead and 400 wounded, while thousands demonstrated in the Armenian capital Yerevan to protest the management of the crisis.
This follows a lightning military operation launched by Baku forces last Tuesday and ended on Wednesday, with the conclusion of a ceasefire agreement and the surrender of Armenian separatists.
For its part, the Russian Defense Ministry said that its peacekeeping forces in Karabakh evacuated about 5,3 civilians from <> regions in the region.
The ministry added in a statement that its forces continue to provide all the necessary meals and medical care to civilians who were evacuated to peacekeeping camps, stressing the mission's mission of maintaining security and not allowing bloodshed.
Russian peacekeepers have been deployed in the region since 2020 and are monitoring compliance with the ceasefire agreement signed in November of the same year between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said yesterday that his country had regained "sovereignty" over the disputed territory with Armenia, and that Armenian separatists had begun withdrawing and handing over their weapons, under a ceasefire agreement reached after a military operation in Baku.
Aliyev added that his country achieved all its goals and regained its sovereignty within one day of operations in the region, and "immediately took the necessary steps, punished the enemy properly, and all tasks were completed in just one day."
An adviser to the Azerbaijani president said his country aims to "peacefully reintegrate Armenians" into the region and supports the normalization process between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Suspension of operations
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense announced the suspension of military operations in the Karabakh region with a set of conditions, including the withdrawal of Armenian armed formations from the region, and the delivery of their heavy weapons in coordination with Russian peacekeeping forces.
Sputnik said that a delegation from the Armenians of Karabakh went to meet with an Azerbaijani delegation to discuss the issue of integration, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashnyan called on the international community to provide security guarantees for the residents of the region.
Meanwhile, thousands of Armenians demonstrated on Wednesday in Yerevan to protest the crisis in the region, and Armenian opposition politicians called for Pashinyan to be prosecuted, accusing him of abandoning the Armenian majority in Karabakh after the separatists surrendered.
Police also used stun grenades and warned that they would resort to "special measures" if protesters did not disperse in front of the headquarters.
After his quick rise to power, Pashinyan vowed to change, but the military defeat to Azerbaijan in 2020 and the escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh weighed on his popularity.