Abkhazian-born separatist sending group of mercenaries to Azerbaijan's Nagorno Karabakh

By Trend

Russian media outlets published an article about the statement of Akhra Avidzba (with the nickname Abkhaz) on sending a group of ethnic Armenians living in Georgia’s occupied Abkhazia region to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, Trend reports on Nov.6.

According to the article, Avidzba (known for his participation on the side of separatist military units in Ukrainian Donetsk and Luhansk regions since 2014), said that he gathered a group of ethnic Armenians living in Abkhazia who will go to fight in Karabakh in the coming days.

According to the media, there is no information yet about how many people will be included in the group. Users of social networks, having drawn attention to the photos of ‘ethnic Armenians’, said that they were from the Russian city of Sochi. It was noted that Russia doesn’t support Armenia in the Karabakh issue, and these persons are not ethnic Armenians, but real mercenaries.

Armenian Armed Forces launched a large-scale military attack on positions of the Azerbaijani army on the front line, using large-caliber weapons, mortars, and artillery on Sept. 27.

Azerbaijan responded with a counter-offensive along the entire front. As a result of retaliation, Azerbaijani troops liberated a number of territories previously occupied by Armenia, as well as take important, strategic heights under control.

The fighting continued into October 2020, in the early days of which Armenia has launched missile attacks on Azerbaijani cities of Ganja, Mingachevir, Khizi as well as Absheron district.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, the Armenian Armed Forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.