Nagorno-Karabakh Ceasefire Holds, But Shaky, After Four Days of Fighting

Ceasefire Continues to Hold

The ceasefire that went into effect Wednesday continues to hold, and the situation appears to returning to status quo ante bellum, with the territory occupied by Azeri forces in the fighting since abandoned back to the secessionists. Tensions are still high, and many fear the fighting could quickly resume

Officials from the separatist region have reported 50 troops were lost in the course of four days of fighting against Azerbaijan, though roughly half of them, 20-30, are still “missing” and it’s unclear what happened to them. Over 100 others were wounded.

Azeri officials haven’t announced a final toll on their side, though at least 12 soldiers were reported slain early on, and several civilians from the border region were reported slain by artillery fire across the tense border.

Nagorno-Karabakh is considered part of Azerbaijan under UN law, but has been de facto independent since 1994, and is heavily backed by neighboring Armenia. Fears are that such fight could quickly bring not just Azerbaijan and Armenia into war, but regional powers like Russia and Turkey as well.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.