Azerbaijan has announced the continuation of its military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh for a second day, characterizing them as "anti-terror" actions in the region. The country has declared that it will not halt its operations until ethnic Armenians in Karabakh surrender.

Tensions in the South Caucasus have been escalating for several months over the status of the breakaway region, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan and Armenia last engaged in warfare just three years ago.

In a statement issued on Wednesday morning, Azerbaijan's defense ministry reported the neutralization of military equipment belonging to the Armenian armed forces, including military vehicles, artillery, and anti-aircraft missile installations.

Nagorno-Karabakh authorities have reported 27 casualties, including two civilians, and numerous injuries since the offensive began.

Azerbaijan has expressed readiness for talks but insists that "illegal Armenian military formations must raise the white flag" and disband their "illegal regime."
Azerbaijan and Armenia first went to war in the early 1990s following the Soviet Union's dissolution. In 2020, Azerbaijan recaptured areas in and around Nagorno-Karabakh before a truce was established and monitored by Russian peacekeepers.

Ethnic Armenians in Karabakh have called for a ceasefire and the commencement of negotiations, but Azerbaijan's ultimatum suggests its intention to complete its conquest of the mountainous enclave.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accused Azerbaijan of initiating a ground operation aimed at "ethnic cleansing." Frustrated Armenian protesters clashed with police in Yerevan, denouncing their leader as a traitor and demanding his resignation.

Both Russia's foreign ministry and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have called on Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev, to immediately cease military action.

Azerbaijan has proposed starting talks in the town of Yevlakh, located approximately 100km north of Karabakh's regional capital, Khankendi (known as Stepanakert by ethnic Armenians).

Since late 2020, approximately 2,000 Russian peacekeepers have monitored the fragile truce, but Russia's focus has shifted due to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

An estimated 120,000 ethnic Armenians reside in the mountainous enclave. Russia has evacuated nearly 500 civilians from high-risk areas, while separatists claim to have helped relocate a total of 7,000.

Azerbaijan has enforced a blockade on the only route into the enclave from Armenia, known as the Lachin Corridor, for the past nine months.

Azerbaijan's military operation was launched in response to two landmine explosions on Tuesday, resulting in six deaths, including four police officers.

Despite air raid sirens and sounds of artillery and gunfire in Karabakh's main city, Azerbaijan's defense ministry has asserted that it is not targeting civilians or civilian structures, emphasizing that only legitimate military targets are being engaged with high-precision weapons.

The situation has prompted international calls for an immediate ceasefire and adherence to the 2020 ceasefire agreement and principles of international humanitarian law.

South Caucasus commentator Laurence Broers noted that the Armenian population in Karabakh has been weakened by the blockade, suggesting that Azerbaijan's operation aims to regain control of the entire Armenian-populated Karabakh.

Armenia, a member of the Russian-led CSTO military alliance, has experienced strained relations with Moscow, while 175 Armenian soldiers have participated in joint military exercises with US forces this week. Azerbaijan enjoys strong support from its ally, Turkey.

Hikmet Hajiyev, special adviser to Azerbaijan's president, called on the separatist ethnic-Armenian administration to "dissolve itself" and reiterated Azerbaijan's commitment to providing rights and security for Karabakh Armenians under the constitution.

Despite earlier hopes of easing tensions, Azerbaijan recently permitted aid from the International Committee of the Red Cross to enter Karabakh via two roads, one through the Lachin Corridor from Armenia and the other on Azerbaijan's Aghdam road.