Azerbaijan launches major artillery assault on Nagorno Karabakh's capital

Azerbaijan has initiated a massive artillery attack against Nagorno Karabakh, targeting its capital Stepanakert on a large scale, the region’s former Minister of State Rubern Vardanyan said on Tuesday.

“After imposing an 8-month total blockade on 120,000 Armenians, subjecting them to starvation and enduring moral and psychological hardships, they are now deliberately targeting them for elimination,” Vardanyan said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

AFP also confirmed the attack. Videos on social media showed smoke rising from several areas around Stepanakert, illustrating the intensity and broad scope of the assault.

Stepanakert now… pic.twitter.com/2G8X6VO8my

— Marut Vanyan (@marutvanian) September 19, 2023

Marut Vanyan, a local journalist said sirens were going off throughout the city. He also added that he could hear machine gun fire close to his house and the sound of a drone.

Other local sources reported that the shelling was coming from the heights of Shushi.

The Azerbaijan Defense Ministry in a statement said their recent actions were merely "local anti-terrorist activities" aimed at restoring constitutional order in response to alleged Armenian provocations and violations in the Karabakh region.