Battle of Kelbajar

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The battle of Kelbajar ( Azerbaijani Kbadlbəcər döyüşü; Armenian Քարվաճառիճակատամարտ ) is the name given to the conquest of the Azerbaijani city ​​of Kelbajar by Armenian units during the Nagorno-Karabakh War in early April 1993.

background

Kelbajar (Azerbaijani Kəlbəcər; Armenian Karvachar ) is a city ​​surrounded by several canyons and a high mountain range, called Murovdağ , in the far west of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan , which borders Armenia . From a strategic point of view, the conquest of this province was of great relevance for the Armenian troops, as it forms the second vital corridor between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh alongside Laçın , which was conquered in May 1992.

The security situation before the conquest

In Kelbajar, which lies outside the administrative boundaries of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, around 60,000 civilians, mostly Azerbaijanis, and a small Kurdish community lived in the run-up to the Armenian offensive . At the beginning of 1993, the security situation around the city began to deteriorate dramatically. The disorganization of the fragmented Azerbaijani military units went hand in hand with the increasing encirclement of the city by Armenian troops. In March 1993, Kelbadschar was surrounded from three directions. The only open escape route for civilians led north over the more than 3,000-meter-high Murovdağ Mountains.

Attack and occupation

Displaced Azerbaijani refugees from Kelbajar

Armenian units started their large-scale offensive on March 27, 1993. During this operation they received strong support from the mountain troops of the 128th Regiment of the 7th Russian Army stationed in Armenia . The city was bombarded with heavy artillery (including BM-21 multiple rocket launcher systems) for 3 days and was finally captured on April 3rd. The population had to be evacuated in rapid transit using transport helicopters . The rest of them fled north with their essential belongings over the frosty Ömər Pass (Omar Pass) on foot. Most of them, however, froze to death on the way. When asked by a journalist about the expulsion of Azerbaijani civilians from their hometowns, Monte Melkonian , a former member of the Armenian terrorist organization ASALA and one of the leaders of the Armenian units in the Battle of Kelbajar, said that Armenians and Azerbaijanis would not live together "in the medium and long term possible".

Consequences and International Response

The conquest of Kelbajar with a total area of ​​more than 1900 km² triggered a major humanitarian catastrophe in Azerbaijan. Almost 39 thousand displaced civilians had to be housed in refugee camps in Yevlax and Daşkəs .n . The fate of another 15,000 people is still unclear. Four Azerbaijani Mil-Mi 8 helicopters attempting to evacuate the residents of Kelbajar crashed or were shot down by Armenian troops.

A 1994 report by Human Rights Watch documents numerous war crimes committed on the Armenian side during the Kelbadschar offensive. In one of these cases, on April 1, 1993, armed Armenian groups used automatic weapons and grenade launchers to attack a truck carrying 25 fleeing Azerbaijani civilians. They were all either killed or taken hostage .

The occupation of Kelbajar and the displacement of tens of thousands of people by Armenia met with fierce criticism from the international community. In response, Turkey stopped the transport of humanitarian goods through Armenia, broke off diplomatic relations with that country and closed the common state border, which has not yet opened.

In its letter addressed to the Armenian government, the US government sharply condemned Armenia's actions. Iran also sided with Azerbaijan and emphasized the inadmissibility of the escalation and the occupation of foreign territories.

On 30 April 1993, the adopted UN Security Council the resolution no. 822 is expressed in the one hand, concern about the growing escalation and the worsening humanitarian situation in the region, on the other hand, the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian occupying forces from the city Kelbadjar required . To date, Armenia refuses to implement the provisions of this resolution.  

Literature and individual references

  1. ↑ Human Rights Watch (ed.): The Republic of Armenia as a party to the conflict. Azerbaijan. Seven Years of Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh . New York 1994, ISBN 1-56432-142-8 , pp. 12-26 .
  2. ↑ Karl R. DeRouen / Uk Heo: Civil Wars of the World. Major Conflicts Since World War II Volume II . ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, California 2007, ISBN 978-1-85109-919-1 , pp. 152 .
  3. ^ Markar Melkonian: My Brother's Road: An American's Fateful Journey to Armenia . IBTauris, New York City 2005, ISBN 978-1-84511-530-2 .
  4. ^ Attacks in Caucasus Bring New Tide of Refugees. In: New York Times. April 7, 1993, accessed July 13, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Human Rights Watch (ed.): The Republic of Armenia as a party to the conflict. Azerbaijan. Seven Years of Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh . New York 1994, ISBN 1-56432-142-8 , pp. 12-26 .
  6. ↑ Армен ХАЛАТЯН: АРМЕНИЯ И КАРАБАХСКИЙ КОНФЛИКТ. Retrieved July 13, 2019 (Russian).
  7. ↑ David Binder: "US Rebukes Armenia on New Drive in Caucasus". April 7, 1993, accessed July 13, 2019 .
  8. ↑ "Iranians Deliver a Warning To Azerbaijan and Armenia". In: New York Times. April 13, 1993, accessed July 13, 2019 .
  9. ^ Resolution 822. Armenia-Azerbaijan (April 30). In: United Nations Security Council Resolutions. Retrieved July 13, 2019 .