Attacks On Armenia Azerbaijan Border Flare Up Potentially Rekindling An Old Conflict

  A decades-old conflict may be on the verge of a resurgence as reports emerged this week of attacks along the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia.   

  The Armenian Defense Ministry claimed that the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan carried out artillery raids on Armenian border towns on Tuesday morning.  According to Armenia’s Defense Ministry, the attack included drones and heavy artillery fired in the direction of Goris, Sotk and Jermuk.   

  Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry responded with a statement that acknowledged the strikes but said the strikes were “small-scale” and “aimed at ensuring the security of Azerbaijan’s borders.”   

  On Monday, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry accused Armenian forces of firing small arms in the direction of Novoivanovka settlement of Gadabay district and Husulu settlement of Lachin district near the border of the two countries.  Armenia has denied the allegations.   

  Last month, the two countries clashed over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, a landlocked region between Eastern Europe and Western Asia inhabited and controlled by Armenians but located on Azerbaijani soil.   

  The unrest in the region is decades old and dates back to the collapse of the Soviet Union, when the region, with the support of Armenia, declared independence from Azerbaijan.  Azerbaijan has long claimed to retake the territory, which is internationally recognized as Azerbaijan.   

  Russia, a security ally of Armenia, maintains a peacekeeping force in the region after brokering a ceasefire agreement in early November 2020, ending a nearly two-month conflict that has killed at least 6,500 people, according to Reuters.   

  On Monday night, the US called for an “immediate cessation of hostilities”, according to a statement from US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s office.   

  “The United States is deeply concerned about reports of attacks along the Armenia-Azerbaijani border, including reported strikes against settlements and civilian infrastructure inside Armenia,” Blinken said.  “As we have long made clear, there can be no military solution to the conflict.  We demand an immediate end to military hostilities.”