Armenia confirms the participation of Syrian mercenaries to fight alongside Azerbaijan

Clashes continue along the Azerbaijani border with the Republic of "Artsakh" also known as "Nagorno Karabakh" since Sunday morning, in the second attack of the Azerbaijani armed forces this month on the fighters of the republic, which declared its independence from Azerbaijan and refused to join Armenia in early 1992 following the collapse "Soviet Union".

And after media reports that indicated Turkish intervention by stoking the fire of war and differences between the two parties besides Azerbaijan - as it did in Libya - and with an official announcement from Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, who publicly stated, on Sunday, that his country would help with all its resources, the authorities in Armenia confirmed the matter. Really.

The official spokesperson for the Armenian Ministry of Defense, Shushan Stepanyan, and according to Araik Harutyunyan, President of the Republic of "Artsakh", confirmed the presence of Syrian mercenaries participating in the fighting alongside the Azerbaijani forces supported by Turkey, in the current offensive that included areas larger than the one that witnessed clashes between Azerbaijan and Artsakh in April 2016.

Official information indicated that there is close cooperation and coordination between the military services of Armenia and Artsakh, stressing that the Armenian Armed Forces will take the relevant measures in the event of any violations against them, and they are also ready to support the Defense Army of the Republic of Artsakh to ensure its security and the safety of its inhabitants, as she put it.

Yerevan revealed that about 4000 Syrian mercenaries supporting Ankara participated in the military attack alongside the Azerbaijani army on Sunday morning, according to the official Armenian news agency, "ARMENPRESS", citing the "United Armenian Information Center."

The agency also mentioned that the "Armenian Information Center" has verified the killing of 81 Syrian mercenaries so far.

Amidst the escalation of tensions between Yerevan and Baku, Armenia's Foreign Minister Zahrab Manatsakyanian announced that Azerbaijan had always threatened to use force, and Manatsakyanian said earlier that Turkey is working to destabilize Karabakh, adding that the Turkish intervention strengthens the hostilities.

While stressing that his country has the full capacity to defend itself and the Karabakh region, explaining: "We have repeatedly stressed the importance of the peaceful option."

The Syrian Observatory said yesterday that a batch of Syrian Turkish mercenaries arrived in Azerbaijan, where Turkey transferred them from its lands to there, and this batch had arrived in Turkish lands a few days ago, coming from the occupied Afrin region.

In addition, "Artsakh" has not witnessed any military attacks against it since the "Three Days" war, which lasted from 2 to 5 April 2016, after an attack by the Azerbaijani army on Armenian fighters who control the 4,800-square-kilometer republic.

The Republic of Artsakh has a presidency and a local government that takes the city of Sitbanakert as its capital, but Yerevan is the one that takes care of its foreign affairs, especially with regard to its discussions with Baku, as a result of the latter’s refusal to negotiate with what it calls “Armenian separatists”.

In early July, the Azerbaijani army launched an attack, which was the first of its kind, on Armenian regions outside the Republic of "Artsakh", located northeast of the capital Yerevan. This attack caused great damage in populated agricultural areas in the Armenian district of Tawush, in addition to dozens of dead and wounded residents. Both the province and the Armenian army.

T/S

ANHA