Armenia-Azerbaijan war: Know why the two countries are fighting

There has been a dispute between the two countries over this area for decades and war has also happened between the two earlier. But this time this war looks scaled up. The most worrisome part is that this war is no longer limited between the two countries. Russia and Turkey are also openly intervening in this. While Turkey is in support of Azerbaijan, Russia has spoken of ending trade relations with the two countries.

Violence between the two countries has now reached a frightening level. Dozens of people have died in this war which started last Monday. According to officials, after the army killed 26 people, the total number of dead has crossed 80. Both the countries are increasing their troops at the war front.

The war had lasted for more than a decade

This war is going on over a mountainous area called Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan claims that the area is its own, although the region has been occupied by Armenia since the 1992 war. Historically, this region has been dominated by separatist organizations. This led to several decades of ethnic conflicts. This dispute between the two countries is several decades old. From the early 1980s to 1992, there was a war between the two countries over the region. During that time more than 30 thousand people were killed and more than one million people were displaced. Even after the ceasefire in 1994, there were frequent reports of violence. Both these countries agreed to a ceasefire but never consented to a peace agreement.

At the time when the referendum was held in Nagorno-Karabakh, there was fierce violence on both sides and millions of people were killed. The situation worsened when the local administration of the region expressed its intention to join Armenia. This was done because the region is an ethnic Armenian-dominated region. By 1992, the situation worsened and millions of people were displaced.

After the intervention of Russia in 1994, there was a ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan. But the dispute continued and after three decades there has been a ceasefire violation on both sides. Nagorno-Karabakh is ruled by 'The Republic of Artsakh', but internationally Azerbaijan is its recognized ruler.

How the current war started

In July 2020, violent clashes broke out between the people of both countries, in which 16 people died. After that, public anger erupted in Azerbaijan, and mass demonstrations took place. People demanded that the country take possession of this area. Within a few days, both countries started accusing each other. Azerbaijan claimed that they retaliated only when the Armenians killed the people of Azerbaijan. It is also claimed that they have captured the militants of Armenia. At the same time, Armenia has claimed that Azerbaijan has disturbed the peace. If we consider the claims of both countries, then dozens of people died during this period. Earlier in 2016, there was a fierce battle in which around 200 people died.

Many countries may be affected

If this war lasts for a long time, the economies of many countries can be severely affected. This is because gas and oil pipelines pass through this area. These are the pipelines through which oil is supplied to Russia and Turkey. This mainly includes the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the Western Route Export oil pipeline, the Trans Anatolian gas pipeline, and the South Caucasus gas pipeline.
  
Azerbaijan also has a large population of Turks. This is why Turkey considers it a friendly country. Turkey's relations with Armenia have never been good. Turkey closed its borders with Armenia whenever there was a conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. After deepening the controversy, Turkey is once again standing against Armenia. Russia is with Armenia. Russia also has a military base here. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has appealed to both countries for a ceasefire. At the same time, Turkey has directly advised Azerbaijan to move forward, reiterating not to participate in this war. At the same time appealed to Armenia, that it should withdraw.