Armenia, Azerbaijan clashes resume over separatist region

October 05, 2020

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — The fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh resumed on Monday morning, with both sides accusing each other of launching attacks.

Armenian military officials on Monday reported missile strikes hitting Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh. The region lies in Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since the end of a separatist war in 1994.

Firefights “of various intensity ... continue to rage" in the conflict zone, Armenian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanian said on Facebook. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, in turn, accused Armenian forces of shelling the towns of Tartar, Barda and Beylagan. Ganja, Azerbaijan's second largest city far outside of the conflict zone, is also “under fire,” officials said.

The fighting erupted on Sept. 27 and has killed dozens, marking the biggest escalation in the decades-old conflict over the region. Both sides have accused each other of expanding the hostilities beyond the conflict zone in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Nagorno-Karabakh officials have said nearly 200 servicemen on their side have died in the clashes so far. Eighteen civilians have been killed and more than 90 others wounded. Azerbaijani authorities haven’t given details on their military casualties, but said 24 civilians were killed and 121 others were wounded.

Nagorno-Karabakh was a designated autonomous region within Azerbaijan during the Soviet era. It claimed independence from Azerbaijan in 1991, about three months before the Soviet Union’s collapse. A full-scale war that broke out in 1992 killed an estimated 30,000 people.

By the time the war ended in 1994, Armenian forces not only held Nagorno-Karabakh itself but substantial areas outside the territory’s formal borders. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly said that Armenia’s withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh is the sole condition to end the fighting.

Armenian officials allege that Turkey is involved in the conflict and is sending fighters from Syria to the region. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said earlier this week that “a cease-fire can be established only if Turkey is removed from the South Caucasus.”

Ankara has denied sending arms or foreign fighters, while publicly siding with Azerbaijan in the dispute.

Azerbaijan says Armenia targets cities outside conflict zone

October 04, 2020

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — The fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces continued Sunday over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, with Azerbaijan accusing Armenia of targeting the country's cities that are far beyond the conflict zone.

Hikmet Hajiyev, aide to Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev, said Sunday that Armenia targeted large cities Ganja and Mingachevir with missile strikes. Ganja, home to several hundred thousand residents and the country's second-largest city, is located roughly 100 kilometers (about 60 miles) away from Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh’s capital, and so is Mingachevir.

The clashes erupted on Sept. 27 and have killed dozens, marking the biggest escalation in the decades-old conflict over the region, which lies within Azerbaijan but is controlled by local ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia.

Hajiyev on Sunday tweeted a video depicting damaged buildings, and called it the result of “Armenia’s massive missile attacks against dense residential areas” in Ganja. It wasn’t immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the video.

Hajiyev said in another tweet on Sunday evening that Armenian forces also hit Mingachevir, which “hosts a water reservoir and key electricity plant,” with a missile strike. Armenia’s Defense Ministry vehemently denied the claims. The ministry's spokeswoman Shushan Stepanian wrote on Facebook that “no fire was opened from Armenia in the direction of Azerbaijan” and called the accusations “desperate convulsions of the Azerbaijani side.”

Nagorno-Karabakh’s leader, Arayik Harutyunyan, said on Facebook that he ordered “rocket attacks to neutralize military objects” in Ganja, but later told his forces to stop firing to avoid civilian casualties. His spokesman Vahram Poghosyan told Armenian media on Sunday evening there was no reason for Nagorno-Karabakh forces to target Mingachevir.

Azerbaijani officials denied that any military objects had been hit in Ganja, but said the attack caused damage to civilian infrastructure. One civilian has been killed, and 32 others sustained injuries, authorities said.

“Opening fire on the territory of Azerbaijan from the territory of Armenia is clearly provocative and expands the zone of hostilities,” Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov said in a statement Sunday.

According to Hajiyev, no serious damage was inflicted on the infrastructure in Mingachevir, but “civilians (have been) wounded.” As the fighting resumed Sunday morning, Armenian officials accused Azerbaijan of carrying out strikes on Stepanakert and targeting the civilian population there. Nagorno-Karabakh’s leader Harutyunyan said that in response, his forces would target “military facilities permanently located in major cities of Azerbaijan.”

In a statement issued later on Sunday, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry rejected accusations of targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure. Aliyev, the Azerbaijani president, tweeted Sunday that the country’s troops “liberated from occupation the city of Jabrayil and several surrounding villages.” Nagorno-Karabakh’s officials rejected the claim as untrue, saying the territory’s army “is controlling the situation in all directions.”

Nagorno-Karabakh officials have said nearly 200 servicemen on their side have died in the clashes so far. Eighteen civilians have been killed and more than 90 others wounded. Azerbaijani authorities haven’t given details on their military casualties, but said 24 civilians were killed and 111 others were wounded on their side.

Nagorno-Karabakh was a designated autonomous region within Azerbaijan during the Soviet era. It claimed independence from Azerbaijan in 1991, about three months before the Soviet Union’s collapse. A full-scale war that broke out in 1992 killed an estimated 30,000 people.

By the time the war ended in 1994, Armenian forces not only held Nagorno-Karabakh itself but substantial areas outside the territory’s formal borders, including Jabrayil, the town Azerbaijan claimed to have taken on Sunday.

This week’s fighting has prompted calls for a cease-fire from around the world. On Thursday, leaders of Russia, France and the United States — co-chairs of the so-called Minsk Group, which was set up by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 1992 to resolve the conflict — issued a joint statement calling for an immediate cease-fire and “resuming substantive negotiations ... under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.”

Azerbaijani President Aliyev repeatedly said that Armenia’s withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh is the sole condition to end the fighting. Armenian officials allege that Turkey is involved in the conflict and is sending fighters from Syria to the region. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said earlier this week that “a cease-fire can be established only if Turkey is removed from the South Caucasus.”

Spokesman of Nagorno-Karabakh’s leader Vahram Poghosyan said on Facebook Sunday evening that since Azeribaijan has involved “terrorist mercenaries" in the region, “this means that the current situation gives us a legitimate right to move our operations to the entire territory of Azerbaijan to clear it of terrorist groups.”

Ankara has denied sending arms or foreign fighters, while publicly siding with Azerbaijan in the dispute. On Sunday, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attack on Ganja, saying it was proof of Armenia’s disregard for the law. Ankara accused Armenia of attacking civilian residential areas, and claimed that Armenia could commit crimes against humanity.

“Armenia is the biggest barrier to peace and stability in the region,” the ministry said.

Associated Press writers Daria Litvinova in Moscow, Aven Demourian in Yerevan, Armenia, and Zeynep Bilginsoy in Istanbul, contributed to this report.

Azerbaijan claims seizing villages in fighting with Armenia

October 03, 2020

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Armenia and Azerbaijan said heavy fighting continues in their conflict over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan’s president said late Saturday that his troops had taken a town and several villages while Armenian officials claimed their troops inflicted heavy casualties.

Fighting broke out on Sept. 27 in the region, which is located within Azerbaijan and under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces. It is some of the worst in Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas since the end of a war in 1994.

Armenian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanian said intensive fighting was “taking place place along the entire front line” on Saturday and that Armenian forces had shot down three planes. Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry denied any planes being shot down and said Armenian personnel had shelled civilian territory. Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said his country's army ”raised the flag” in the town of Madagiz and taken seven villages.

Nagorno-Karabakh officials have said more than 150 servicemen on their side have died so far. Azerbaijani authorities haven’t given details on their military casualties but said 19 civilians were killed and 55 more wounded.

Vahram Poghosyan, a spokesman for Nagorno-Karabakh's president, claimed Saturday on Facebook that intelligence data showed some 3,000 Azerbaijanis have died in the fighting. Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Ovannisian said later that 2,300 Azerbaijan troops were killed, about 400 of them in the last day.

With Azerbaijan not commenting on troop casualties, the statements could not be verified. Nagorno-Karabakh was a designated autonomous region within Azerbaijan during the Soviet era. It claimed independence from Azerbaijan in 1991, about three months before the Soviet Union's collapse. A full-scale war that broke out in 1992 killed an estimated 30,000 people.

By the time the war ended in 1994, Armenian forces not only held Nagorno-Karabakh itself but substantial areas outside the territory's formal borders, including Madagiz, the village Azerbaijan claimed to have taken Saturday.

Several United Nations Security Council resolutions have called for withdrawal from those areas, which the Armenian forces have disregarded. Aliyev said in a television interview the Armenians must withdraw from those areas before the latest fighting can stop.

In the interview with Al Jazeera, a transcript of which was distributed Saturday by the presidential press office, Aliyev criticized the so-called Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which has tried to mediate a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.

One reason behind the current fighting is that “the mediators do not insist or exert pressure to start implementing the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council,” he said. “We have no time to wait another 30 years. The conflict must be resolved now.” Aliyev said.

Armenia has repeatedly claimed over the past week that Turkey sent Syrian fighters to Azerbaijan and that the Turkish military is aiding Azerbaijan's. “Turkey and Azerbaijan are pursuing not only military-political goals," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said Saturday in an address to his nation. “Their goal is Armenia, their goal is continuation of the genocide of Armenians.”

Some 1.5 million Armenians died in mass killings in Ottoman Turkey beginning in 1915, which Armenia and many other countries have labeled a genocide. Turkey firmly rejects that term, contends the total number of victims is inflated and says the deaths were the consequence of civil war.

Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry released a statement Saturday alleging that thousands of ethnic Armenians from abroad were being deployed or recruited to fight for Armenia. “Armenia and Armenian disapora organizations bear international legal liability for organizing these terrorist activities,” the statement said.

Associated Press writers Avet Demourian in Yerevan, Armenia, and Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this report.

Azerbaijan and Armenia brush off suggestion of peace talks

September 30, 2020

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia brushed off the suggestion of peace talks Tuesday, accusing each other of obstructing negotiations over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, with dozens killed and injured in three days of heavy fighting.

In the latest incident, Armenia said one of its warplanes was shot down by a fighter jet from Azerbaijan’s ally Turkey, killing the pilot, in what would be a major escalation of the violence. Both Turkey and Azerbaijan denied it.

The international community is calling for talks to end the decades-old conflict between the two former Soviet republics in the Caucasus Mountains region following a flareup of violence this week. It centers on Nagorno-Karabakh, a region that lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian government since 1994 at the end of a separatist war.

The U.N. Security Council called on Armenia and Azerbaijan Tuesday evening to immediately halt the fighting and urgently resume talks without preconditions. The U.N.’s most powerful body strongly condemned the use of force and backed Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ earlier call to stop the fighting, deescalate tensions, and resume talks “without delay."

Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev told Russian state TV channel Rossia 1 that Baku is committed to negotiating a resolution but that Armenia is obstructing the process. “The Armenian prime minister publicly declares that Karabakh is (part of) Armenia, period. In this case, what kind of negotiating process can we talk about?” Aliev said. He added that according to principles brokered by the Minsk group, which was set up in 1992 by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to resolve the conflict, “territories around the former Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous region should be transferred to Azerbaijan.”

Aliev noted that if Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says “that Karabakh is Armenia and that we should negotiate with the so-called puppet regime of Nagorno-Karabakh, (he is) trying to break the format of negotiations that has existed for 20 years.”

Pashinyan, in turn, told the broadcaster that “it is very hard to talk about negotiations ... when specific military operations are underway.” He said there is no military solution to the conflict and called for a compromise.

But first, Azerbaijan must “immediately end (its) aggression towards Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia," Pashinyan said. “We all perceive this as an existential threat to our nation, we basically perceive it as a war that was declared to the Armenian people, and our people are now simply forced to use the right for self-defense.”

Since Sunday, the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Ministry reported 84 servicemen were killed. Aliyev said 11 civilians were killed on its side, although he didn’t detail the country’s military casualties. Both countries accused each other of firing into their territory outside of the Nagorno-Karabakh area on Tuesday.

The separatist region of about 4,400 square kilometers (1,700 square miles), or about the size of the U.S. state of Delaware, is 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Armenian border. Soldiers backed by Armenia also occupy some Azerbaijani territory outside the region.

Armenia also alleged that Turkey, which supports Azerbaijan, was involved. “Turkey, according to our information, looks for an excuse for a broader involvement in this conflict,” Pashinyan said. The Armenian military said an SU-25 from its air force was shot down in Armenian airspace by a Turkish F-16 fighter jet that took off from Azerbaijan, and the pilot was killed.

The allegation of downing the jet was “absolutely untrue,” said Fahrettin Altun, communications director for Turkey's president. Azerbaijani officials called it “another fantasy of the Armenian military propaganda machine.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Armenia to withdraw immediately from the separatist region, and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey is “by Azerbaijan’s side on the field and at the (negotiating) table.”

Armenian officials said that Turkey, a NATO member, is supplying Azerbaijan with fighters from Syria and weapons, including F-16 fighter jets. Both Azerbaijan and Turkey deny it. Earlier in the day, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said Armenian forces shelled the Dashkesan region in Azerbaijan. Armenian officials said Azerbaijani forces opened fire on a military unit in the Armenian town of Vardenis, setting a bus on fire and killing one civilian.

Armenia's Foreign Ministry denied shelling the region and said the reports were laying the groundwork for Azerbaijan “expanding the geography of hostilities, including the aggression against the Republic of Armenia."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pushed for “an immediate cease-fire and a return to the negotiating table" in phone calls with the leaders of both countries, her office said. She told them the OSCE offers an appropriate forum for talks and that the two countries’ neighbors “should contribute to the peaceful solution,” said her spokesman, Steffen Seibert.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a visit to Greece that “both sides must stop the violence" and work "to return to substantive negotiations as quickly as possible.” Russia, which along with France and the United States co-chairs the Minsk group, urged every country to help facilitate a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

“We call on all countries, especially our partners such as Turkey, to do everything to convince the opposing parties to cease fire and return to peacefully resolving the conflict by politico-diplomatic means,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.

Putin spoke to Pashinyan on Tuesday for the second time in three days, urging de-escalation and, like the other leaders, an immediate cease-fire.

Associated Press writers Daria Litvinova in Moscow, Geir Moulson in Berlin, Suzan Fraser in Ankara and Elena Becatoros in Athens contributed.

Armenia, Azerbaijan fight for 4th day over separatist region

September 30, 2020

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Heavy fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh continued for a fourth straight day on Wednesday, in the biggest escalation of a decades-old conflict in years that has killed dozens and left scores of others wounded.

Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said Armenian forces started shelling the town of Tartar on Wednesday morning, damaging “civilian infrastructure” and wounding people, while Armenian military officials reported that Azerbaijani forces were bombing positions of the Nagorno-Karabakh army in the north of the war-torn region.

Armenia has repeatedly alleged Turkey’s involvement in the conflict. On Wednesday, Armenian officials said Turkish drones and Turkish F-16 fighter jets were being used in Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia’s Foreign Ministry demanded “immediate withdrawal of the Turkish armed forces, including the air force, from the conflict zone.”

Turkey has previously denied supplying arms to Azerbaijan, and the ex-Soviet republic said Ankara wasn't involved in the conflict. The fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh erupted Sunday and has continued despite mounting calls for a cease-fire from around the globe.

Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian government since 1994 at the end of a separatist war following the breakup of the Soviet Union three years earlier.

The region in the Caucasus Mountains of about 4,400 square kilometers (1,700 square miles), or about the size of the U.S. state of Delaware, is 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Armenian border. Soldiers backed by Armenia also occupy some Azerbaijani territory outside the region.

The conflict escalated on Tuesday, with Armenia alleging Turkish involvement and claiming that a Turkish F-16 fighter jet shot down an SU-25 from its air force in Armenian airspace, killing the pilot.

Turkey, which has been vocal about siding with Azerbaijan in the dispute, denied those claims, and so did Azerbaijan. Hikmet Hajiyev, an aide to Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev, told reporters via teleconference on Wednesday that the incident involved two Armenian SU-25 planes that reportedly crashed into a mountain, rather than an F-16 downing a SU-25.

“We have identified that two SU-25s took off from the territory of Armenia, and they lost their direction. They hit themselves on the mountains and they destroyed themselves,” Hajiyev said, accusing Armenia of hiding it from the public.

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Wednesday that if Azerbaijan requests assistance, Ankara will provide it. “We have said that if Azerbaijan wants to solve this on the field, we will stand by Azerbaijan. If Azerbaijan makes a request, we would do the necessary. But we see that Azerbaijan has sufficient capacity," Cavusoglu told the Anadolu news agency.

Meanwhile, European officials are seeking to bring the opposing sides to the negotiating table. French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking on Wednesday at a news conference in Riga, Latvia, called for talks between France, Russia and the United States — the three countries co-chair the Minsk group, set up in 1992 by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to resolve the conflict — to mediate.

“I will speak to President (Vladimir) Putin tonight and, I think, President (Donald) Trump tomorrow to discuss and propose an exit strategy” for the crisis, Marcon said. The French president also condemned recent comments from Turkey as “reckless and dangerous" and said he was "extremely preoccupied by the belligerent messages from Turkey in the past hours.”

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias has called for an emergency meeting of the OSCE that would include Azerbaijan and Armenia to try and achieve a swift end to hostilities over Nagorno-Karabakh and a resumption of negotiations.

“The escalation of tension in Nagorno-Karabakh has a serious impact on regional stability,” Dendias said, adding that he is in contact with his counterpart from Armenia and is planning a visit to Yerevan soon. Dendias also called on regional rival Turkey to end actions that would further escalate the conflict.

Daria Litvinova in Moscow, Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.

Azerbaijani forces close in on key town in Nagorno-Karabakh

October 29, 2020

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — The Azerbaijani army closed in Thursday on a key town in Nagorno-Karabakh following more than a month of intense fighting, while top diplomats from Azerbaijan and Armenia prepared for more talks to try to end their long conflict over the separatist territory.

Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist leader, Arayik Harutyunyan, said Azerbaijani troops had advanced to within 5 kilometers (about 3 miles) of the strategically placed town of Shushi. He urged residents to mobilize all their resources to fend off the attack.

“The one who controls Shushi controls Nagorno-Karabakh,” Harutyunyan said in a video address from the town's cathedral, which was severely damaged by Azerbaijani shelling this month. “We must realize that and take part in defending Shushi. We must reverse the situation.”

Shushi is located about 5 kilometers south of Nagorno-Karabakh's regional capital, Stepanakert. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994.

The latest fighting began Sept. 27 and has involved heavy artillery, rockets and drones, in the largest escalation of hostilities over the separatist region in the quarter-century since the war ended. Hundreds and possibly thousands of people, have been killed in a little over a month.

Separatist authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh accused Azerbaijani forces Thursday of shelling Stepanakert, Shushi and Martakert with Smerch multiple rocket systems, a devastating Soviet-designed weapon intended to ravage wide areas with explosives and cluster munitions. Martakert was also raided by Azerbaijani aircraft, officials said.

Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry denied using aviation and accused Armenian forces of shelling the Terter, Goranboy and Barda regions of Azerbaijan. One civilian was killed in the Goranboy region, according to Hikmet Hajiyev, a foreign policy advisor to the Azerbaijan's president.

The ministry also reported downing two Armenian Su-25 warplanes, a claim Armenian officials rejected as “disinformation.” According to Nagorno-Karabakh officials, 1,166 of their troops and 39 civilians have been killed in the clashes so far. Azerbaijani authorities haven’t disclosed their military losses, but say the fighting has killed at least 90 civilians and wounded 392.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that, according to Moscow’s information, the death toll from the fighting was nearing 5,000, a significantly higher number than officially reported. The hostilities have raged for a fifth week despite international calls for peace and three attempts at establishing a cease-fire. The latest U.S.-brokered truce frayed immediately after it took effect Monday, just like two previous cease-fires negotiated by Russia. The warring sides have repeatedly blamed each other for violations.

Russia, the United States and France have co-chaired the so-called Minsk Group set up by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to mediate in the conflict, but they have failed to score any progress.

The Minsk Group’s co-chairs were set to meet with the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Geneva on Thursday, but the negotiations were pushed back until Friday and the prospects for a breakthrough appeared dim.

Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Anna Naghdalyan said the change of date was “linked to the evolving situation and logistical issues,” adding that negotiating a lasting and verifiable cease-fire is a priority for Armenia.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly criticized the Minsk Group for failing to achieve any results in three decades and insisted that Azerbaijan has the right to reclaim its territory by force since international mediation has failed.

Speaking Thursday at an investor conference in Moscow, Putin said that negotiating a settlement for the decades-long conflict is extremely challenging. “It's a tight knot, and there are no simple solutions,” Putin said. “Each side has its own truth.”

Russia, which has a military base in Armenia and a security agreement to protect its ally, has been involved in a delicate diplomatic act while trying to also maintain good ties with Azerbaijan and to avoid a showdown with Turkey.

Before the latest escalation of hostilities, Russia proposed a peace plan that would see Azerbaijan reclaim control of several of its regions outside Nagorno-Karabakh that Armenian forces captured during the war that ended in 1994. In exchange, Nagorno-Karabakh would be given security guarantees and a crippling blockade of Armenia by Turkey and Azerbaijan would be lifted.

Armenia has resisted the plan. Residents of Nagorno-Karabakh, whose homes have been damaged by shelling, also appeared to have little faith in the international peace efforts. “Neither France nor Russia are doing anything. We are left alone,” Vovik Zakharian, a resident of Shushi, a town that came under repeated shelling, said.

Zakharian, 72, inspected his apartment Thursday after it was damaged in morning strikes. "We will fight till the end," he said. “We have to try our best.”

Associated Press writer Daria Litvinova and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and Aida Sultanova in London contributed to this report.

Turkey's Erdogan: Russia does not support stability in Syria

October 29, 2020

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Wednesday that there are indications that Russia does not support stability and peace in Syria.

“Russia’s attack targeting the Syrian National Army forces training centre is a sign that a lasting peace and calm is not wanted in the region,” Erdogan told lawmakers of his ruling Justice and Development Party, adding that if promises to remove terrorists from areas identified in Syria are not fulfilled, Turkey has the right to eject them.

“Turkey can cleanse all of Syria of terrorist organisations if necessary,” Erdogan proclaimed. The Turkish president stressed that his country is the only one truly fighting Daesh.

Erdogan added that the entity that the US is trying to establish along the Iraqi-Syrian border would cause new conflicts and tragedies.

Source: Middle East Monitor.

Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201029-turkeys-erdogan-russia-does-not-support-stability-in-syria/.

Erdogan warns Turkey has 'right to mobilize' again against Kurdish forces

Oct 28, 2020

A year after launching an incursion into northeast Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the possibility of another offensive against US-backed Kurdish forces in the war-torn country. 

"We see the presence of terrorist organizations in areas along our Syrian border not under our control," Erdogan said in an address to lawmakers in his ruling party Wednesday. "If the terrorists here are not cleared as we were promised, we have the legitimate right to mobilize once again."

Last October, Turkey’s military launched a long-planned cross-border operation to expel Kurdish militias Ankara views as terrorists from the border and create a “safe zone” in which to relocate some of the three million Syrian refugees in Turkey. Some 200,000 civilians were displaced during the offensive in what critics said was an attempt to ethnically cleanse an area inhabited by Kurds. 

The assault on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, who partnered with the United States to defeat the Islamic State in Syria, drew widespread condemnation from both parties in Washington. The Trump administration blacklisted several Turkish officials and ministers but removed the sanctions nine days later after Turkey reached a cease-fire with Russia that called for the Kurdish fighters to withdraw from the border. 

During his speech to parliament, Erdogan also referenced the suspected Russian airstrikes that killed dozens of Turkey-backed rebel fighters in Idlib province on Monday. The attack on Faylaq al-Sham, one of the main rebel groups in the so-called Syrian National Army (SNA), marked the deadliest round of violence since Turkey and Russia brokered a cease-fire for the northwest territory in March.

“Russia's strike targeting Syrian National Army forces' training center in the region of Idlib is a sign that a lasting peace and calm in the region is unwanted,” Erdogan said. 

Turkey deployed the SNA, an umbrella group of moderate and hard-line rebel factions, in its offensive on Kurdish-held territory last year. Turkey’s proxies have also fought the Syrian regime in Idlib, the country’s last pocket of rebel resistance. The Syrian government's 11-month campaign to retake Idlib province last year killed more than 1,600 civilians and displaced a further million, the United Nations estimates.

Source: al-Monitor.

Link: https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/10/erdogan-turkey-syria-kurds-militants-again-offensive-trump.html.

Signs of economic war between Morocco and Spain

October 29, 2020

Media reports warned of an unprecedented economic war between Morocco and Spain, following the steps taken by the Moroccan authorities to prevent smuggling activities by permanently suspending trade activities via the Ceuta and Melilla crossings.

Madrid recently announced the imposition of a $700 fine against trucks entering the Spanish territory carrying more than 200 litres of fuel, while only monitoring vehicles coming from Morocco.

The Moroccan newspaper Akhbarna reported that these measures coincided with a period of intensive exportation of Moroccan agricultural products to Europe, causing massive losses for international shipping companies, and affecting the delivery dates of cargo to buyers.

According to the newspaper, Morocco responded by announcing a new measure that requires Spanish trucks to show a contract of partnership with a Moroccan company to obtain permission to cross the kingdom’s territory.

If the new regulations are violated, Spanish vehicles will be seized at the Tanger Med port.

This decision came into effect on Tuesday.

Source: Middle East Monitor.

Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201029-signs-of-economic-war-between-morocco-and-spain/.

Egypt shops take French goods off their shelves

October 28, 2020

A number of Egyptians on social media are calling for the boycott of French products after comments made by the French president following the murder of a school teacher on 16 October.

Samuel Paty was beheaded in a gruesome terrorist attack after he showed caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to his pupils in France.

In response, France shut down a prominent mosque, closed Muslim aid groups and defended what it said is its right to caricature Islam’s prophet.

In the days following the killing of Paty, two Muslim women were stabbed next to the Eiffel Tower.

Emmanuel Macron has positioned himself as a defender of French secularism and the right to free speech, saying he wants to “build an Islam in France that can be an Islam of Enlightenment.”

He has said he will fight “Islamist separatism” and that Islam is in “crisis all over the world today.”

France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin suggested ethnic food aisles in supermarkets should be closed down.

In response, social media users published lists of French brands and called on consumers to boycott them and for an economic war against France.

A supermarket chain in Egypt, 4 Shopping Mall in Sadat City, has removed French products.

In Bangladesh 40,000 people called for a boycott of French products whilst Pakistan’s parliament passed a resolution urging the government to recall its envoy from Paris.

French goods have been taken off the shelves in Kuwait and Qatar. One restaurant in Doha, Le Train Bleu, no longer use any imported French ingredients for their meals.

Protests have taken place in Iraq, Turkey and Gaza and a number of Arab trade associations have also announced a boycott.

An Iranian newspaper has labelled Macron, the “Demon of Paris,” and a picture of the president and the French flag was burnt outside the French embassy in Baghdad.

In 2006 there was a similar campaign to boycott Danish products and goods after a Danish newspaper published caricatures of the prophet considered offensive.

Source: Middle East Monitor.

Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201028-egypt-shops-take-french-goods-off-their-shelves/.

Turkish leaders condemn Charlie Hebdo cartoon of Erdogan

October 28, 2020

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish officials on Wednesday railed against French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo over its cover-page cartoon mocking Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and accused it of sowing “the seeds of hatred and animosity.”

The cartoon could further heighten tensions between Turkey and France, which erupted over French President Emmanuel Macron’s firm stance against Islamism following the beheading of a teacher who showed his class caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad for a free speech class.

The Prophet cartoons upset many in the Muslim world. But it was Erdogan who led the charge against France and questioned Macron’s mental state. France then recalled its ambassador to Turkey for consultations, a first in French-Turkish diplomatic relations.

“We strongly condemn the publication concerning our president of the French magazine, which has no respect to faith, the sacred and values,” Erdogan’s spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, wrote on Twitter. The Ankara Chief Prosecutor's office launched an investigation into Charlie Hebdo managers over the cartoon, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Insulting the president is a crime in Turkey punishable by up to four years in prison.

Erdogan himself said he had not looked at the drawing and had nothing to say about the “dishonorable” publication. “My sadness and anger does not stem from the disgusting attack on my person but from the fact that the same (publication) is the source of the impertinent attack to my dear Prophet,” Erdogan told his ruling party's legislators in parliament.

He went on to criticize France and other Europe nations' colonial past saying: “You are murderers!” Tensions between France and Turkey have mounted in recent months over Turkish actions in Syria, Libya and the Caucasus Mountains region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The cartoon depicted Erdogan in his underwear holding a drink and lifting the skirt of a woman wearing an Islamic dress. “I condemn this incorrigible French rag's immoral publication concerning our president,” Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay wrote on Twitter. “I call on the moral and conscientious international community to speak out against this disgrace.”

Macron's stance sparked anti-France protests in Turkey and in other Muslim countries as well as calls for the boycott of French goods. In Egypt, the country's top Muslim cleric called on the international community to adopt universal legislation criminalizing anti-Muslim discrimination and activities.

At a gathering celebrating Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam, also condemned the slaying of the French teacher in Paris as “an odious and painful murder." He said that offending Islam and Muslims has become a tool to mobilize votes. He called the “offensive cartoons” depicting Muhammad “a blatant hostility against this noble religion and its prophet.”

He urged Muslims to resort to peaceful and legal means to “resist hate speech,” and those in Western countries to integrate “positively and consciously” in their societies. Speaking at a Cabinet meeting, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani also weighed in on the debate.

“If Europe and France are after rights, ethics and culture they have to withdraw from intervention in Muslim affairs,” Rouhani said.

Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo and Nasser Karimi in Tehran contributed.

France tightens security amid fallout from teacher beheading

October 27, 2020

PARIS (AP) — France is increasing security at religious sites as the interior minister said Tuesday that the country faces a “very high” risk of terrorist threats, amid growing geopolitical tensions following the beheading of a teacher who showed his class caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

French diplomats are trying to quell anger in Turkey and Arab nations amid anti-France protests and calls for boycotts of French goods in response to President Emmanuel Macron’s firm stance against Islamism in the wake of the Oct. 16 beheading. European allies have supported Macron, while Muslim-majority countries are angered by his defense of prophet cartoons they consider sacrilegious.

France’s national police have called for increased security at religious sites around the All Saint’s holiday this coming weekend, particularly noting online threats from extremists against Christians and moderate French Muslims.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on France-Inter radio that the terrorist threat remains “very high, because we have a lot of enemies from within and outside the country.” He reiterated plans to try to disband Muslim groups seen as peddling dangerous radical views or with too much foreign financing. He accused Turkey and Pakistan in particular of “meddling in France's internal business."

“There is a battle against an Islamist ideology. We must not back down,” he said. But he insisted that “the Muslim faith has all its place in the republic.” Some members of France’s largely moderate Muslim community are calling for calm, and defending the freedom of expression that the beheaded teacher was seeking to demonstrate.

The prophet cartoons deeply upset many Muslims around the world. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has led the charge against France, questioning Macron’s mental state, and France recalled its ambassador to Turkey for consultations, a first in French-Turkish diplomatic relations.

Tensions between the two countries have mounted in recent months over Turkish actions in Syria, Libya and the Caucasus Mountains region of Nagorno-Karabakh. But this new spat has quickly spread to other countries in Europe and the Muslim world.

Anti-France protests have been held from Bangladesh to the Gaza Strip, Kuwaiti stores pulled French yogurt and bottles of sparkling water from their shelves, Qatar University canceled a French culture week, and Pakistan’s parliament passed a resolution condemning the publication of cartoons of the prophet.

EU officials warn that Turkey’s stance could further damage its relations with key trading partners and its long-stalled efforts to join the EU. “A boycott will only move Turkey even further away from the EU,” European Commission spokesman Balazs Ujvaris said Tuesday, insisting that Turkey needs to respect the terms of its trade deal on merchandise and goods with the EU.

Samuel Petrequin in Brussels and Suzan Fraser in Ankara contributed.

Turkey's Erdogan sues Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker for insults

October 27, 2020

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is suing Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders after the anti-Islam politician posted a series of tweets against the Turkish leader, including one that described him as a “terrorist.”

The state-run Anadolu Agency said Erdogan’s lawyer on Tuesday filed a criminal complaint against Wilders at the Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s office for “insulting the president” -- a crime in Turkey punishable by up to four years in prison.

Wilders posted a cartoon depicting Erdogan wearing a bomb-resembling hat on his head, with the comment: “terrorist.” Wilders continued posting tweets targeting Erdogan this week amid a growing quarrel between Turkey and European countries sparked by Erdogan’s sharp comments against French President Emmanuel Macron, including remarks questioning Macron’s mental health over his stance on Islam.

Erdogan has persistently sued people for alleged insults since he took office as president in 2014. Thousands have been convicted. More than 29,000 people were prosecuted on charges of insulting Erdogan last year, according to the Birgun newspaper.

The complaint against Wilders, whose political career has been based largely on his strident anti-Islam rhetoric, accused him of using language “insulting the honor and dignity of our president and of targeting Erdogan’s personality, dignity and reputation,” according to Anadolu.

Wilders, who leads the largest opposition party in the Dutch parliament, shrugged off the Turkish criminal complaint and described Erdogan as a “loser.” Wilders has lived under tight security for 16 years due to death threats following his anti-Islam rhetoric.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte called the move against Wilders unacceptable and said his government would raise the issue with Turkey. “In the Netherlands, we consider freedom of expression as the highest good. And cartoons are part of that, including cartoons of politicians,” Rutte told reporters in parliament.

He added that a legal case “against a Dutch politician that could possibly even lead to a curtailment of freedom of expression is not acceptable.” On Monday, Turkey's Daily Sabah newspaper, which is close to Erdogan, printed pictures of Wilders and Macron, with the headline: “the two faces of hatred and racism in Europe.”

Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands contributed.

King, Queen, in phone call, check on Jordanian man, his sister who were attacked in France

10/25/2020

AMMONNEWS - His Majesty King Abdullah and Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah on Sunday, in a phone call, checked on a young Jordanian man and his sister, residing in France, who were victims of an "irresponsible" attack.

The victim called Muhammad Abu Eid, is French government secondee to work as a teacher at a public school for the Arabic language in the city of Lille, and his sister Heba Abu Eid is also a scholarship awardee from the French embassy in Amman and the French government to acquire a master's degree in international tourism management in France, Heba told the Jordan News Agency (Petra) Sunday evening.

Heba talked about details of the attack on her and her brother during the latter's visit to her in the French city of Angers, where she is studying, and said that a man and a French woman attacked her and her brother "just because they were speaking in Arabic."

She added that the French woman and man chased her and her brother and beat them inside the university dormitory where she resides, explaining that that the recent events following the republication of blasphemous cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, God's blessings and peace be upon him, is likely the reason behind the attack.

Heba noted that her brother and she were able to escape from the attackers, and informed the police, which in turn initiated an investigation into the incident, followed up on their case after providing first aid in a nearby hospital and obtained a medical report of their health condition.

She stated that the Jordanian embassy staff in Paris, headed by Ambassador Makram Qaisi, responded very quickly to the incident, and are following up on its repercussions with the French authorities, pointing out that a delegation from the embassy visited them in the city of Angers.

Heba described as "very nice surprise" the royal call, which contributed to mitigating the psychological impact her brother and she suffered due to the attack.

Source: Ammon News.

Link: http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleno=44289.

Ministry says following up on assault on two Jordanians in France

10/25/2020

AMMONNEWS - The Ministry of Foreign and Expatriates Affairs on Sunday said it was following up with the Jordanian embassy in Paris on an assault incident against two Jordanians in Angers city in western France on Friday.

Ministry Spokesman Daifallah al-Fayez said the two, a man and his sister, are now in good condition and have been contacted the embassy in Paris, which dispatched the Jordanian cultural attache' to their place of residence to check on their health and offer any assistance needed.

He added that the embassy is currently following up on a complaint lodged with French authorities that are currently investigating the incident.

Source: Ammon News.

Link: http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleno=44281.