Why Do Armenia, Azerbaijan Fight in Nagorno-Karabakh?
2020-10-14
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1For more than two weeks, Armenian and Azerbaijani forces have been fighting over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
2Hundreds of soldiers and many civilians have been killed in the clashes.
3Observers fear that, as the number of dead rises, it will be harder for diplomats to persuade Armenia and Azerbaijan to return to negotiations.
4Russia negotiated a ceasefire between the warring countries on Saturday.
5But the truce is only being partly observed.
6The two sides are accusing the other of violating the agreement.
7Nagorno-Karabakh lies inside Azerbaijan, but the area is largely independent of the central government.
8Most of the people living there are ethnic Armenians, not Azeris.
9The current fighting started on September 27.
10It has been described as the worst in the territory since the early 1990s.
11At that time, as many as 30,000 people were killed before Russia helped negotiate a halt to the fighting.
12The ceasefire agreement left the dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan frozen.
13Both the United States and France supported the deal.
14Over the past 20 years, conflicts have flared up from time to time.
15This time, Azerbaijan's president appears to want to make a breakthrough either by force or by negotiations.
16Observers say Azeris, who are the majority in the rest of Azerbaijan, are dissatisfied with a lack of diplomatic progress on the conflict.
17Talks are being led by France, the United States and Russia as co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
18The three and several other countries in the area are known as the OSCE Minsk Group.
19Azerbaijan has become frustrated with a lack of progress.
20They say the ceasefire has permitted Armenian control not only of Nagorno-Karabakh, but seven other areas.
21They also claim that Armenia now controls about 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized land.
22Azerbaijan says United Nations Security Council resolutions requiring Armenian troops to leave all occupied territories have been ignored.
23They add that Armenia's president has claimed the disputed area as part of Armenia.
24Azerbaijan has been modernizing its army since 2016.
25The country appears to have strengthened its military with the help of Turkey.
26It has bought $10 billion in weapons from foreign companies in recent years.
27Zaur Shiriyev is an expert on the South Caucasus area.
28He works for the Belgium-based International Crisis Group.
29He says the morale of Azerbaijani forces is high.
30He also said there was little interest among civilians for returning to peace talks.
31Laurence Broers is with the research group Chatham House.
32He notes that Azerbaijani forces are flying Turkish and Israeli drone aircraft over land controlled by Armenian forces.
33He said they have made gains through the "Line of Contact, particularly along the southern flank."
34Any gains are expected to make it harder for Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev, to return to his country's positions before the offensive.
35I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.
1For more than two weeks, Armenian and Azerbaijani forces have been fighting over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Hundreds of soldiers and many civilians have been killed in the clashes. 2Observers fear that, as the number of dead rises, it will be harder for diplomats to persuade Armenia and Azerbaijan to return to negotiations. 3Russia negotiated a ceasefire between the warring countries on Saturday. But the truce is only being partly observed. The two sides are accusing the other of violating the agreement. 4A short history of the disputed area 5Nagorno-Karabakh lies inside Azerbaijan, but the area is largely independent of the central government. Most of the people living there are ethnic Armenians, not Azeris. 6The current fighting started on September 27. It has been described as the worst in the territory since the early 1990s. At that time, as many as 30,000 people were killed before Russia helped negotiate a halt to the fighting. The ceasefire agreement left the dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan frozen. Both the United States and France supported the deal. 7Over the past 20 years, conflicts have flared up from time to time. This time, Azerbaijan's president appears to want to make a breakthrough either by force or by negotiations. 8Observers say Azeris, who are the majority in the rest of Azerbaijan, are dissatisfied with a lack of diplomatic progress on the conflict. 9Talks are being led by France, the United States and Russia as co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The three and several other countries in the area are known as the OSCE Minsk Group. 10Azerbaijan has become frustrated with a lack of progress. They say the ceasefire has permitted Armenian control not only of Nagorno-Karabakh, but seven other areas. They also claim that Armenia now controls about 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized land. Azerbaijan says United Nations Security Council resolutions requiring Armenian troops to leave all occupied territories have been ignored. They add that Armenia's president has claimed the disputed area as part of Armenia. 11Azerbaijan has been modernizing its army since 2016. The country appears to have strengthened its military with the help of Turkey. It has bought $10 billion in weapons from foreign companies in recent years. 12Zaur Shiriyev is an expert on the South Caucasus area. He works for the Belgium-based International Crisis Group. He says the morale of Azerbaijani forces is high. He also said there was little interest among civilians for returning to peace talks. 13Laurence Broers is with the research group Chatham House. He notes that Azerbaijani forces are flying Turkish and Israeli drone aircraft over land controlled by Armenian forces. He said they have made gains through the "Line of Contact, particularly along the southern flank." 14Any gains are expected to make it harder for Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev, to return to his country's positions before the offensive. 15I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. 16Jamie Dettmer reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 17________________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19flare up -v. when violence or disease suddenly becomes worse 20breakthrough - n. a sudden and important development 21frustrated - adj. getting angry because of not being able to do something or complete something 22morale - n. a feeling of happiness or loyalty that a person or group has about a job 23drone -n. a kind of small aircraft that flies without a pilot can be used for war 24flank -n. a side of a military formation 25We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, and visit our Facebook page.