First day of clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan

Civilian casualties have been reported on both sides as Azerbaijani military forces stage a military action across ‘the entire line of contact’ in Nagorno-Karabakh.  

Update: For the latest live updates click here.

Nagorno-Karabakh’s Human Rights Defender Artak Beglaryan has reported that two civilians had been killed.  Meanwhile, videos purportedly showing the shelling of Stepanakert and surrounding areas have spread on social media in Armenia. 

The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence has reported that civilians have been killed and wounded as a result of shelling by Armenian forces in a number of villages along the line of contact — they have not released any specific numbers.

The Azerbaijani government has also limited internet access throughout the country in order to prevent ‘provocations’. ‘We hope that the citizens of Azerbaijan will show understanding in connection with the restrictions’, a statement by the Communication Ministry reads.

Azerbaijan said they had deployed tanks and artillery units as part of the offensive. On Sunday morning, they confirmed that a helicopter had been shot down.

Nagorno-Karabakh President Arayik Harutyunyan has declared a full-scale military mobilization and martial law throughout Nagorno-Karabakh.

Increased tensions

The escalation comes at a time of increased tensions. On Monday, the Azerbaijani State service for Mobilisation and Conscription announced that soldiers and officers in the reserves had been called for military training and inspection, and unspecified ‘special gatherings’.

Azerbaijani authorities also impounded a number of civilian pickup trucks for military use.

[Read more: Azerbaijan calls on reservists and confiscates cars after ‘provocation’.]

On Thursday, the US embassies in Armenia and Azerbaijan issued security warnings. The embassy in Baku urged for US citizens not to travel outside of the Absheron Peninsula.

This story will be updated as it develops. 

 For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.