✓Shushi’s Cathedral has been attacked by Azerbaijani forces.
✓Another Azerbaijani offensive in the south of Artsakh has been repelled.
✓Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan calls for international recognition of Artsakh’s independence.
Armenian and Azerbaijani forces were engaged in fierce clashes Saturday as fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region intensified after its main city came under heavy shelling.
The leader of the breakaway province said he was heading to the front and that the "final battle" for the region had begun, seven days after new fighting erupted in the decades-old dispute.
Armenia's defence ministry said Karabakh's separatist forces had repelled a "massive attack" by Azerbaijan in one area of the frontline and had launched a counter-offensive.
"Heavy fighting is ongoing on other flanks," defence ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said.
Azerbaijan's defence ministry said its forces had "captured new footholds" and that the Armenians had "suffered serious losses in manpower and military hardware".
The clashes came after the regional capital Stepanakert came under artillery and rocket fire on Friday. AFP journalists in the city heard more explosions on Saturday morning.
Residents hid in shelters and on Saturday were clearing up wreckage and sweeping up the shattered glass windows of their homes and shops.
"This is a great sorrow for our community, for our people," Nelson Adamyan, a 65-year-old electrician, told AFP outside his damaged residential building.
"But we will stand for our freedom, we will always be free."
At least one person was reported killed in the shelling.
Both sides have been accused of hitting civilian areas, with Azerbaijan saying Saturday that Armenian artillery had shelled 19 of its settlements overnight.
The new fighting erupted last Sunday and mounting international calls for a halt to the hostilities and a return to negotiations over the dispute have gone unanswered.
The leader of the breakaway province, Arayik Harutyunyan, said he was headed to join the "intensive fighting" on the frontline.
The "nation and motherland are under threat," he told reporters in Stepanakert.
"The time has come for the entire nation to become a powerful army. This is our final battle, which we will certainly win."
– Call for recognition –
Both sides have repeatedly claimed to be inflicting heavy losses.
The Armenian side has reported 158 military deaths and said 14 civilians have been killed. Azerbaijan has reported 19 civilian deaths but has not confirmed any fatalities among its troops.
Russia, the United States and France — whose leaders co-chair a mediation group that has failed to bring about a political resolution to the conflict — called on the warring sides this week to immediately agree a ceasefire.
Armenia said Friday it was "ready to engage" with mediators but Azerbaijan — which considers Karabakh under Armenian occupation — has said Armenian forces must fully withdraw before a ceasefire can be brokered.
Karabakh's declaration of independence from Azerbaijan amid the collapse of the Soviet Union sparked a war in the early 1990s that claimed 30,000 lives.
Talks to resolve the conflict have made little progress since a 1994 ceasefire agreement.
The breakaway province is not recognised as independent by any country — including Armenia — and Karabakh's foreign ministry said Saturday that only receiving official status from world leaders could resolve the military flare-up.
International recognition, it said, would "ensure the right to life and peaceful development" of its residents and "is the only way towards peace and security in the region."
The fighting has threatened to balloon into a regional conflict drawing in powerful players Russia and Turkey.
Armenia is in a military alliance of former Soviet countries that is led by Moscow, which maintains a military base there, while NATO member Turkey has signalled its full support for Azerbaijan's military operations.
A British-based monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported at least 28 Syrian rebel fighters had been killed in clashes, claiming there were more than 850 such combatants.
10:02,
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. The Board of Trustees of the St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church of San Francisco announced on Thursday that around 4 a.m. the building adjacent to the church was set ablaze by arsonists, Asbarez reported.
“The building housed Vasbouragan Hall, as well as offices for St. Gregory Armenian Church and various organizations. The San Francisco Fire Department responded immediately, however, the building has suffered a great loss,” said the church board of trustees.
This is the second attack on an Armenian establishment in San Francisco in the past two month: In July, the Krouzian-Zekarian Vasbouragan Armenian School and the adjacent community center were targeted by vandals. The exterior of the building was spray painted with anti-Armenian, pro-Azerbaijani graffiti. Investigators have classified the vandalism as a hate crime and the suspects in that case remain at large, police said.
“The Church Board of Trustees and community leaders are on site assessing the damage and working closely with San Francisco Fire and Police Departments in their investigation. We will provide more updates to the community as they become available,” added the board.
The Armenian National Committee of America San Francisco Bay Area issued a statement condemning the attack and expressed deep concern over "an emerging pattern of hate crimes " targeting the Armenian-American community.
Firefighters initially responded to the blaze just after 4 a.m. at St. Gregory The Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church at 51 Commonwealth Ave., police said.
Although firefighters were able to eventually extinguish the fire, the building sustained extensive damage, according to San Francisco Fire Department spokesman Lt. Jonathan Baxter. No one was injured as a result of the fire, he said.
Editing by Stepan Kocharyan
The European Union understands Turkey’s difficulties, but does not consider them to be an excuse for its aggressive behavior in the region, Head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday in the European Parliament.
"Yes, Turkey has a problematic neighborhood. And yes, it accepts millions of refugees, for which we support it with significant funding. But none of this can justify its attempts to intimidate its neighbors," von der Leyen said.
Head of the European Commission noted that although Turkey is geographically close to the European Union and will always be its close neighbor, the misunderstanding between Ankara and Brussels is growing.
"Turkey is and always will be an important neighbor, but although we are geographically close, the distance between us is likely to continue to grow," she said.
Von der Leyen also added that Greece and Cyprus "can always count on European solidarity in protecting their sovereign rights."
Turkey has recently been actively searching for deposits in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, which has led to tensions with Greece, Cyprus and other European countries, which believe that the Turkish side is looking for deposits in areas not belonging to it.
16:25, 7 September, 2020
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Former Speaker of Parliament Ara Babloyan is on trial on charges of abuse of power and official falsifications. Arsen Babayan, the ex-Deputy Chief of Staff of the Parliament, is also a defendant in the case charged with similar accusations.
The trial began today, presided by Judge Harutyun Manukyan of the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction. Babloyan and Babayan are both in the court room.
Investigators say Babloyan and Babayan committed the crimes when both were in office in 2018. They are suspected in falsifying official documents to remove obstacles and install Hrayr Tovmasyan as Constitutional Court President in 2018. They deny wrongdoing.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
12:40, 5 September, 2020
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. The number of fatalities in the shocking alcohol poisoning incident climbed to 17 on Saturday, the health ministry said.
A total of 46 cases of methanol poisoning were registered from August 31 to September 5.
16 people received treatment and were discharged from hospitals.
29 of the cases took place in Armavir with 9 fatalities, 15 in Yerevan with 7 fatalities, and 2 in Kotayk province with 1 fatality.
13 people are still hospitalized. The patients are displaying various symptoms such as vertigo, blackouts, nausea, comatose state, and three patients have vision loss. Most of them are in serious or critical condition.
The deadly alcohol poisoning incident was caused by bootleg vodka sold on the black market.
Earlier investigators had said that a man from the town of Armavir is under arrest in suspicion of running the bootleg business. Two other suspects are also under arrest for their involvement.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
VAN, Turkey
A millennium-old Armenian church this Sunday celebrated a special mass in eastern Turkey.
The Armenian Akdamar Church of the Holy Cross – an invaluable piece of Turkish cultural heritage located in the Van province – hosted the mass amid precautionary measures due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 1,100-year-old church is opened for worship once a year with special permission of the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry.
The mass, which normally draws thousands of local and international tourists, this year gathered a limited number of visitors due to virus safety measures.
The roughly two-hour mass ceremony aired live. A team of 25 people came from Istanbul to perform the ritual.
Speaking to the press afterwards, Van Governor Mehmet Emin Bilmez said that due to virus measures: “Today, a small group of the Armenian community performed a symbolic ritual here.”
Sahak Mashalian, head of the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul, thanked officials who made it possible to hold the mass.
Akdamar Church, a medieval Armenian place of worship in Turkey’s eastern Van province, was built around 915-921 A.D. by architect Bishop Manuel under the direction of King Gagik I Artsruni.
The church, which has a special place in East-West Christian art, carries the most important adornments and the most comprehensive wall reliefs of its time and was added to UNESCO’s Tentative List of World Heritage in 2015.
Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Ministry has done extensive renovation and restoration work to bring the medieval church back to its former glory.
On Sept. 19, 2010, Akdamar Church hosted its first service after a 95-year break. The church opened for service every year for one day, with the last service in 2019 attracting thousands of local and international tourists to Van
*Writing by Handan Kazanci
By Trend
According the Geneva Conventions, moving civilians into a war zone as well as into (pacified) occupied territories is a Crime of War, Thomas Goltz, journalist, professor at the University of Montana (US), Honorary Doctor of ADA University, told Trend.
His remarks came in response to a question about the illegal settlement of other ethnic groups by Armenia in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
“The problem is proving it and then prosecuting it,” said Goltz.
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, 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.
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19:14, 26 August, 2020
YEREVAN, AUGUST 26, ARMENPRESS. Economic activity index of Armenia increased by 9.7% in July compared with June, ARNENPRESS was informed from the data released by the Statistical Committee of Armenia. Moreover, almost all economic branches recorded growth in July.
Industrial output rose by 1.4% in July against June, construction rose by 10.8%, trade turnover by 11.7%, services by 0.9%, foreign trade by 2.4%, where export rose by 1.5% and import rose by 2.9%.
Average monthly salary increased by 5.4% in July against June.
Electricity production rose by 16.2%, while the consumer price index decreased by 2.1%.
But the economic indexes for January-July show that economic activity index in Armenia declined by 5.7% against the same period of 2019. All the countries of the world record economic decline as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.
Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan