2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
Part of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

  Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh including Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh
  Territory claimed by the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh but controlled by Azerbaijan
Date1–5 April 2016 (4 days)
Location
Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact
Result

Inconclusive (see aftermath)

  • Azerbaijan claims victory[1][2]
  • Armenia claims to have successfully repelled the Azerbaijani offensive[3][4]
Territorial
changes

The line of contact shifted for the first time since 1994[5]

  • Azerbaijan captures a territory from 800 hectares (8.0 km2) to 2,000 hectares (20 km2), including 2 heights
Belligerents
 Artsakh
 Armenia		  Azerbaijan
Commanders and leaders
Republic of Artsakh Bako Sahakyan
Republic of Artsakh Levon Mnatsakanyan
Armenia Serzh Sargsyan
Armenia Seyran Ohanyan
Armenia Yuri Khatchaturov		 Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev
Azerbaijan Zakir Hasanov
Azerbaijan Najmeddin Sadikov
Azerbaijan Hikmat Hasanov
Azerbaijan Polad Hashimov
Units involved
Nagorno-Karabakh Defence Army
Armed Forces of Armenia[6]		 Azerbaijani Armed Forces
Casualties and losses

Per Armenian sources:

  • 91 troops killed[7] (11 non-combat),[8] 123 wounded[9]
  • 9 civilians killed, 6 wounded[10]
  • 14 tanks destroyed[11]

Azerbaijani claim:[12][13]

  • 560 soldiers killed, 500 wounded
  • 33 tanks and armoured vehicles, 25 artillery pieces destroyed

Per Azerbaijani sources:

  • 31–94 soldiers killed, 2 missing, 39 wounded
    [11][14]
  • 6 civilians killed, 26 wounded[15]
  • 1 Mi-24 helicopter and 1 drone lost[11][16]
  • 1 tank destroyed[17]

Armenian claim:[11][18]

  • 300–1,500 soldiers killed, 2,000–2,700 wounded
  • 2 helicopters, 14 drones shot down
  • 26 tanks, 4 IFVs, 1 AEV, 1 MRL destroyed

The 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, also known as the Four-Day War,[a] April War,[24][25][26][b] or April clashes,[c] began along the former Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact on 1 April 2016 with the Artsakh Defence Army, backed by the Armenian Armed Forces, on one side and the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on the other.

The clashes occurred in a region that is disputed between the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Azerbaijan. The region includes the former Soviet Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast and the surrounding districts of Azerbaijan under the control of Armenian forces at the time. Azerbaijan claimed to have started a military operation to prevent purported continuous Armenian shelling of civilian areas in Azerbaijan.[29] However, there was no evidence of Armenian shelling. Until the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, the clashes were the worst since the 1994 ceasefire agreement signed by Artsakh, Azerbaijan and Armenia.[30][31]

A ceasefire was reached on 5 April between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Moscow. The Nagorno-Karabakh authorities also welcomed the oral agreement.[32][33] After the agreement, both sides accused each other of violations. Azerbaijan claimed to have regained 20 km2 (7.7 sq mi) of land,[34] while Armenian officials suggested a loss of 8 km2 (3.1 sq mi) of land of no strategic importance.[35][36] However, the International Crisis Group reported that those heights were of strategic importance.[37]

Officially, Baku reported the loss of 31 servicemen without publishing their names. Armenian sources claimed much higher numbers varying between 300 and 500.[38] The Ministry of Defence of Armenia reported the names of 92 military and civilian casualties, in total.[39] The US State Department estimated that a total of 350 people, both military and civilian, had died.[40] Official sources of the warring parties put those estimates either much higher or much lower, depending on the source.

  1. ^ "The Nagorny Karabakh Conflict: Defaulting to War". chathamhouse.org. Chatham House. 11 July 2016. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2019. Azerbaijan presents its operations of 2–5 April 2016 as a tactical victory and psychological breakthrough.
  2. ^ Jardine, Bradley (2 April 2018). "Armenians and Azerbaijanis commemorate two years since breakout of "April War"". EurasiaNet. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020. President Ilham Aliyev, for his part, posted an image on Instagram of himself wearing military fatigues with the caption, "The April War was our glorious historical victory."
  3. ^ "President Serzh Sargsyan invited a meeting of the National Security Council". president.am. Office to the President of Armenia. 12 April 2016. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020. ....It was noted that during the military actions unleashed by Azerbaijan, the RA Armed Forces fulfilled their task. The NKR Defence Army was victorious in thwarting Azerbaijani aggression and frustrating its plans.
  4. ^ Aslanian, Karlen; Movsisian, Hovannes (5 April 2016). "Azeri Offensive In Karabakh Failed, Says Sarkisian". azatutyun.am. RFE/RL. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  5. ^ Simão, Licínia (June 2016), The Nagorno-Karabakh redux (PDF), European Union Institute for Security Studies, p. 2, doi:10.2815/58373, ISBN 9789291984022, ISSN 2315-1129, archived (PDF) from the original on 21 March 2018, retrieved 31 March 2018, For the first time since the 1990s, Azerbaijani forces managed to regain control of small parts of the territory surrounding Karabakh – the first time the Line of Contact has shifted. Although these changes do not significantly alter the parties' military predicament on the ground...
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference georgiatoday.ge was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "165 Armenian Servicemen Died in 2016 | Asbarez.com". 1 February 2020. Archived from the original on 1 February 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ^ "Karabakh War Casualty Update: Armenia puts April death toll at 92". Archived from the original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  9. ^ 125 wounded (as of 15 April 2016),[1] Archived 25 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine of which 2 subsequently died,[2] Archived 25 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine[3] Archived 30 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine leaving a total of 123 wounded
  10. ^ "Serj Tankian calls on supporting families of killed Armenian soldiers". 9 April 2016. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  11. ^ a b c d "Azeri surgeon: Number of severely injured soldiers greatly tops the norm". PanARMENIAN.Net. Archived from the original on 16 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  12. ^ "Azerbaijan kills over 320 Armenian occupants in April clashes". Trend.Az. 13 May 2016. Archived from the original on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  13. ^ "Azərbaycanın Müdafiə naziri: "Aprel döyüşlərində 560 erməni məhv edilib"". Report.Az. 21 June 2020. Archived from the original on 22 June 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  14. ^ "Siyahı: 93 hərbçi şəhid olub, 6 mülki şəxs dünyasını dəyişib (YENİLƏNİR)". Meydan TV. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  15. ^ "Baku says Armenia's military dictatorship threats values that civilized world stands for". AZERNEWS. 6 April 2016. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  16. ^ "18 Armenian, 12 Azerbaijani troops killed in fighting". 2 April 2016. Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  17. ^ "Минобороны Азербайджана назвало потери в боях". 5 April 2016. Archived from the original on 4 October 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  18. ^ "Министерство Обороны Азербайджана признало факты скрытия погибших в Нагорном Карабахе". FMG NEWS - Международная Служба Новостей. Archived from the original on 20 April 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  19. ^ "Four-Day War Fallout: Armenian politicians insist on Karabakh's becoming full party to talks - Karabakh - ArmeniaNow.com". Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  20. ^ "The four-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh". 6 April 2016. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  21. ^ "APA – 'Four-day war': Changed status quo, balance against Armenia". Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  22. ^ Helix Consulting LLC. "President Serzh Sargsyan met with first President Levon Ter-Petrosyan to discuss Four Day War". Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  23. ^ "Secrets of the Four-Day Karabakh War". The National Interest. 13 April 2016. Archived from the original on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  24. ^ "Armenia: Divided Within?". Al Jazeera. 27 October 2016. Archived from the original on 15 November 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016. ...the territories lost during the April war were of no tactical or strategic importance...
  25. ^ Souleimanov, Emil (12 May 2016). "What the fighting in Karabakh means for Azerbaijan and Armenia". CACI Analyst. Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016. ...the April War of 2016.
  26. ^ Nersisyan, Leonid (24 July 2016). "A Frozen War in Russia's Backyard Heats Up". The National Interest. Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016. ...the short but bloody April war.
  27. ^ "Արցախի հյուսիսային սահման. ապրիլյան պատերազմը լուսանկարներում". Hetq (in Armenian). 6 April 2016. Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  28. ^ "İlham Əliyev Azərbaycan Ordusunun aprel qələbələrinin ildönümü ilə əlaqədar bir qrup hərbçilərlə görüş keçirib" (in Azerbaijani). President of Azerbaijan. 31 March 2017.
  29. ^ Abbasov, Ramil. "News". Defence Ministry of Azerbaijan. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  30. ^ "Nagorno-Karabakh violence: Worst clashes in decades kill dozens". BBC News. 3 April 2016. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  31. ^ Казимиров, В.Н. (2009). Мир Карабаху. Москва. pp. ДОКУМЕНТ № 10. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  32. ^ "President Serzh Sargsyan met with the Ambassadors of the OSCE member states". president.am. Archived from the original on 10 October 2019.
  33. ^ "Ermənistan silahlı qüvvələrinin bölmələri tərəfindən atəşkəs yenə də pozulmaqdadır". Archived from the original on 4 October 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  34. ^ Silahlı Qüvvələrimiz tərəfindən 2000 hektardan artıq ərazi azad edilib Archived 18 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine // Official site of Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan, 18 May 2016.
  35. ^ Cite error: The named reference panarmenian 800 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  36. ^ "Karabakh lost 800 ha of land that played no strategic role: Armenia". horizonweekly.ca. 17 May 2016. Archived from the original on 27 June 2019.
  37. ^ "Nagorno-Karabakh's Gathering War Clouds". International Crisis Group. 1 June 2017. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020. Although Azerbaijan gained control of only two strategic heights in the conflict zone, that was enough to restore its people's confidence in their army...
  38. ^ "Leaked Memo Claims Massive Azerbaijani Losses During April War". asbarez.com. 17 August 2017. Archived from the original on 9 April 2019.
  39. ^ "Տեղեկանք՝ ապրիլի 2-ից 5-ն ընկած ժամանակահատվածում կորուստների մասին". mil.am (in Armenian). 13 April 2016. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019.
  40. ^ "Background Briefing on the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict". U.S. State Department. 16 May 2016. Archived from the original on 20 January 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2016.


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