After fighting a rather savage war for the last six weeks Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed a peace deal. This will see much of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region handed to Azerbaijan and was hailed by the Azerbaijan leader Ilham Aliyez as victory.
The agreement was struck as Armenia forces gradually lost ground after suffering heavily from hi-tech UAVs supplied to the Azeri’s by Turkey and Israel. The Azeri’s had recently celebrated the capture of a number of contested villages as well as the regions second largest town, and though it is reported they have suffered heavy casualties for it, appeared to be on the point of capturing all of the disputed region.
However, the deal has been met with outrage in Armenia. Soon after the announcement footage of protesters ransacking government buildings in the capital was posted online. Protesters chanted that “Nikol has betrayed us”, referring to the Armenian Prime Minister.
The war has also been marked with actions on both sides causing international condemnation, with each actively targeting the others cities with indiscriminate rocket and artillery fire and the killing of prisoners.
The ceasefire came in rapidly after a Russian Mi-24 helicopter, which was escorting Russian troops in Armenia, was accidentally shot down by Azeri forces, killing two crewmen. It is unclear whether this action helped bring the deal to a close, but Russian troops will now deploy in the Armenia areas as peacekeepers.
Links:
The War Between Armenia and Azerbaijan
How did Azerbaijan Identify Armenian Air Defences? By Letting Them Shoot Down Their Aircraft!
