The blockade and shelling of Stepanakert

Blockade

Azerbaijan has blocked railway communications, oil and natural gas supplies to Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh since 1989. Since the fall of 1991, the blockade has become complete and continuous. As a result, the Armenian economy was exhausted, social unrest and a humanitarian crisis began. ^[4] During the spring of 1992, Stepanakert (where nearly 70,000 people lived) was under siege. Azerbaijan blocked the land communication between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. The only connection with the outside world was carried out by helicopter through the mountains for almost two years. Thus, the Armenians of Artsakh and, in particular, the residents of Stepanakert were practically locked in the city ^[13] .

As a result of the tightening of the blockade by Azerbaijan, residents were practically deprived of all the necessary products, including water, electricity, and medicines. The Armenians in Stepanakert were forced to hide in the basement, in terrible conditions, almost around the clock. The Human Rights Watch report specifically states: ^[9]

It was in such conditions of total blockade that the Azerbaijani armed forces continued to expose Stepanakert to shelling and bombing. ^[14]

Shelling and bombing

In the winter of 1991–92, Stepanakert was the target of artillery shelling and bombing by the Azerbaijani armed forces. In May 1992, when speakers at the Helsinki Watch human rights organization arrived in Stepanakert , the city was destroyed. Only from August 22-24, as a result of Azerbaijani shelling, at least 40 civilians died, more than 100 people were injured.

The Helsinki Watch report notes that “the Azerbaijani shelling and bombing were unreasonable and disorderly, and aimed at intimidating and ousting the Armenian population. Like the previous Azerbaijani shelling of Stepanakert , shelling and bombing during and after the operation caused the destruction and damage of dozens of houses, and sometimes entire villages. ” ^[15] As Baroness Caroline Cox writes,“ I am used to counting about 400 shells every day, ” The city "that fell on Stepanakert." ^[16] The shelling was intended to intimidate and oust the Armenian civilian population from Karabakh and to take the Armenian enclave under military control. In 1992, then-Secretary of State of Azerbaijan Lala Shovket Hajiyeva said: "For over a hundred days, we bombed Stepanakert daily, but the Armenians did not leave their homes,". ^[17]

David Atkinson, a member of the Council of Europe , presenting his report during the PACE winter session on January 25, 2005, recalled that he had visited Nagorno-Karabakh in the early 1990s and added that he would “never forget” the Azerbaijani bombing of Stepanakert . ^[18]

Geographically, Stepanakert is in the most vulnerable position, to the east at a distance of 24 km is Agdam, in the north - Khojaly and in the south - Shushi. At that time, Shushi and Khojalu, mainly populated by Azerbaijanis, with a view of Stepanakert, were used as main springboards for shelling and bombing the capital. “Helsinki Watch” writes: “While the Azerbaijani forces held the city of Shushi with a view of Stepanakert, they attacked the Gradov and heavy artillery, hitting civilians, residential quarters, hospitals and similar objects ... Russian pilot Anatoly Chistyakov He said that Azerbaijanis often require hired pilots to drop tear gas in order to cause panic among the civilian population ” ^[9] .

As the platforms for artillery shelling, which began in December 1991 and lasted more than three months, the Soviet BM-21 Grad multiple-launch rocket launchers were used, capable of carrying 50 missile shells simultaneously. MLRS is a modern version of the Katyusha field rocket artillery system, which was widely used during the Great Patriotic War. The main characteristic of rocket artillery systems is considered a relatively high dispersion of shells, as a result of which it is impossible to precisely coordinate the strikes. In fact, the systems are designed to simultaneously hit targets on large areas, to inflict large-scale destruction, while the Azerbaijani army used it to fire at civilians in the densely populated capital of Nagorno-Karabakh. Called "flying telegraph poles" because of their long cumulative charges, the rockets inflicted huge damage on the city. Dozens of residential buildings, schools, a silk factory, a maternity hospital and at least one kindergarten were destroyed. ^[nineteen]

On May 31, 1992, the Chicago Tribune wrote: ^[1]

Response of the Karabakh Self-Defense Forces

By May 1992, Shushi was the only point controlled by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, near Stepanakert, with which residential areas of the NKR capital were fired. ^[20] By this time, as a result of the pogroms of Armenians in the cities of Azerbaijan ( Sumgait , Baku , etc.), as well as military operations in the territory of Artsakh, almost the entire Armenian population was concentrated in Stepanakert. And even indiscriminate shelling by Azerbaijani forces led to heavy casualties among the civilian population. ^{[21] The} extermination of the inhabitants of Stepanakert could only be suspended as a result of the liberation of Shushi. In early May, Artsakh self-defense forces went on the offensive and liberated Shushi as a result of two-day battles . Thus, they gained control over the settlements adjacent to Stepanakert, which made it possible to put an end to the shelling and bombing of the capital of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic . ^{[22] [23]}

As a result of daily shelling of Grad missiles, as well as bombing of the Armenian cities of Goris and Kapan, thousands of civilians and militias were killed, entire villages and towns were destroyed. ^{[24] [25]}

Khojaly city, where the only airport of Artsakh is located, was on the way from Shushi and Stepanakert to Agdam. The airport was vital from the point of view of the survival of the Armenian population of Artsakh, as the land connection with Armenia was completely blocked by Azerbaijan.

According to Human Rights Watch , Azerbaijani forces used the city of Khojaly as a base for shelling Stepanakert. In February 1992, Artsakh self-defense forces took control of Khojaly, as this was the only way to suspend the shelling of Stepanakert and lift the blockade of the city. ^[26]

The US Congress condemned the blockade and aggression of Azerbaijan against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh by adopting Amendment N: 907 to the Freedom Support Act (1992). The document forbade direct US assistance to the Azerbaijani government. It specifically states:

The human rights organization International Christian Solidarity, in its report on the Nagorno-Karabakh war, notes that Azerbaijan was the main aggressor and initiator of the war in Karabakh, since it was Azerbaijan

1) organized the forced deportation of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, 2) established the blockade of Karabakh and Armenia, 3) used heavy military equipment and fired at civilian areas.

The report also notes:

Helsinki Watch

The delegation of the human rights organization Helsinki Watch spent two days in Stepanakert. Armenians said that Stepanakert was constantly under shelling by Azerbaijani forces, starting around October 1991. Members of the organization walked around the city, noted significant damage, photographed countless damage in residential areas. The delegation also noted that almost every building in the western part of Stepanakert was shelled ^[9] .

Helsinki Watch representatives photographed the hospital building, which was completely destroyed, as well as damaged school buildings in some areas of the city ^[9] .

In its annual report, the organization notes that Azerbaijani forces "attacked the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, and other Armenian settlements. As a result of indiscriminate shelling and sniper actions, hundreds of civilians were killed or maimed, houses, hospitals and other facilities that could not be considered legitimate military targets were destroyed. ” ^[28]

Journal Entries

Vanora Bennett, UK reporter:

Stepanakert was in a general cleaning fever. Under the bright sun, the 'little' old women swept out the debris, moving pieces of broken walls. The crack of broken glass on the sidewalk was the loudest sound. Everywhere there are destroyed buildings, traces of war are visible on every house - damaged roofs, bullet holes, cracks, windows without glass. There were no shops, no gas, no electricity, no telephones, no mail, no cash. ^[13]

-

Journalist Vadim Birkin:

Yesterday morning, the Su-25 attack aircraft raided the residential areas of Stepanakert and dropped bombs near the Armenian church in Shushi, precisely at the time of the liturgy ...

Angelica Chechina, Russian journalist, human rights activist:

I was in Stepanakert from January 21 to 25. The city still has neither electricity nor water. Water gets out with such difficulty that it is a shame to drink tea. There is nothing to trade in grocery stores. In the city there are already cases of swelling from hunger. Stepanakert reminds newsreels of the besieged Leningrad.

- ^[29]

Los Angeles Times correspondent John Thor Dalburg:

For three consecutive months, people live in catacombs, some in despair ... In the besieged capital of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, life returned to the urgency and insecurity of the Stone Age. Take, for example, drinking water, the production of which has become an urgent problem after Azerbaijan turned off the power supply to the pumps supplying water mainly to an Armenian city with a population of 70 thousand people ...

In her underground shelter, Lydia Hayrapetyan often wakes up from the noise above her head.

“For three months we did not wash, we forgot what bathing is,” said the teacher, the mother of three children.

They, along with the remaining 36 families living in this building, are deprived of bread, as the bakeries are closed. Instead of bread, they clean and cook raw wheat. “Basically, we survive on tea,” Hayrapetyan says. “There are no more noodles left, no rice ...”

- ^[30]

Chicago Tribune reporter Michael McGuire:

The capital Stepanakert is under daily bombardment. There is not a single house that would be heated or have electricity. As a result of the blockade, fuel intake was cut off. Each village has its own defense forces, because each village is located in a war zone.

- ^[31]

British newspaper The Daily Telegraph:

On Saturday, the air forces of Azerbaijan bombarded the capital of the ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, destroying a hostel for refugees. According to media reports, at least 10 people died.

A spokesman for the Nagorno-Karabakh regional legislature said two Su-25 bombers attacked Stepanakert with 1,100-pound shells. Shells fell at the hostel, killing dozens of people.

The ITAR-TASS news agency reports that civilians were buried under the rubble of their homes, the number of victims cannot be determined.

- ^[32]

Russian writer, human rights activist Inessa Burkova:

For two years, Azerbaijani artillery fired on Artsakh from all sides. They fired not on the military positions of the Karabakh self-defense army, but on residential areas.

Since mid-February, they used weapons of mass destruction - Grad rocket launchers, which are a prohibited weapon, against urban and rural residents of Artsakh.

Both the international community and the new, democratic leaders of Russia were silent. They did not force Azerbaijan to be held accountable for violating international law.

- ^[33]

Russian journalist Galina Kovalskaya:

The Azerbaijani side has more casualties among the military, but the Armenian side obviously has much more casualties among the civilian population, because the battles take place in the Armenian-populated areas (Armenians make up the majority in Karabakh).

In addition, the Karabakh Armenians are exhausted as a result of the militarization of everyday life.

There is not enough fuel, the gas pipeline is constantly blown up, it’s cold, and in besieged cities people are starving ...

- ^[34]

• Between hunger and fire power at the cost of lives Nagorno-Karabakh war documentary, 1991-1992.
• Wounds of Karabakh , Tsvetana Paskaleva
• After the shelling - a documentary by Svetlana Kulchitskaya (in Russian) After the shelling. Film of Svetlana Kulchitskaya
• Nagorno-Karabakh 1992, situation in Stepanakert until the liberation of Shushi

• Indiscriminate bombing and shelling of Azerbaijani forces in Nagorno-Karabakh
• Memoirs from Stepanakert: a reporter from Karabakh compares what happened with the nights in the NKR capital
• Report: 20 killed in Nagorno-Karabakh
• Azerbaijan continues siege of Stepanakert (Artsakh / NKR), British journalist Russell Pollard
• Life goes on underground under siege in the capital. Nagorno-Karabakh: battles continue. February 25, 1992 John Thor Dalburg, Los Angeles Times