Ázerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has claimed that his forces have seized Shusha- the second largest town in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“Shusha is ours. Karabakh is ours,” Aliyev said in a televised address.
“This will become a great day in the history of Azerbaijan,” he rejoiced, as Baku celebrated.
The city, known as Shusha to Azerbaijan and Shushi to Armenia lies in the disputed region of Nagorno -Karabakh and holds great strategic significance with its location on the main corridor connecting the territory with Armenia.
However, Armenia has rebuffed this claim brought forth by Azerbaijan, saying that fighting still continues in the region.
“Fighting in Shushi is continuing. Wait and believe in our troops.” said Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Ovannisian in a post on Facebook.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict still rages on despite ceasefire efforts made by Russia, USA and France. It is only made worse by the strife between Turkey and Russia for regional dominance. Azerbaijan has the outright support of Turkey while Russia serves as the arms provider to both sides.
“I congratulate my Azeri brothers’ Shusha victory … I believe [it] is a sign that the rest of the occupied lands will be liberated soon too,” said Turkish President Erdoğan while addressing crowds in Turkey.
So far 5,000 people have died since Azerbaijan launched an offensive last year to regain Nagorno-Karabakh, internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory but under Armenian de facto control following a ceasefire between the two countries in 1994.
“Our liberation march continues. We will go to the end, until the complete liberation of the occupied territories,” said Aliyev.
