The respected publication Modern Diplomacy has demanded that crimes committed by Azerbaijani and Turkish proxy forces during the recent war in Artsakh must not go unpunished and that the world powers must act if they are to dissuade other despotic regimes from committing similar atrocities in the future.
A ceasefire over Artsakh has now been signed by both Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan which will see all Armenian forces withdraw from the region and be replaced by Russian peacekeepers for 5 years. The ethnic Armenians who inhabit Artsakh say they are now at risk of being the victims of a genocide. Widely documented evidence supports the fact that Azerbaijanis and proxy Turkish forces committed atrocities during the conflict, and that the Azerbaijan government has long been involved in cultural genocide against Armenian sites located within Azerbaijan.
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke recently at an EU summit in Brussels regarding the transportation of jihadi fighters, notably from the 'Hamza brigade', to Artsakh by Turkey. The group is widely believed to have committed war crimes on behalf of Turkey in both the Syrian and Libyan civil wars, including mass-killings, torture and rape.
"We now have information which indicates that Syrian fighters from jihadist groups have (transited) through Gaziantep (southeastern Turkey) to reach the Nagorno-Karabakh theatre of operations. It is a very serious new fact, which changes the situation."
This was backed up by a report from the United Nations which read:
"The UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries said there were widespread reports that the Government of Azerbaijan, with Turkey's assistance, relied on Syrian fighters to shore-up and sustain its military operations in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, including on the frontline. The fighters appeared to be motivated primarily by private gain, given the dire economic situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, the UN experts said. In case of death, their relatives were reportedly promised financial compensation and Turkish nationality… Moreover, reports indicate that Turkey engaged in large-scale recruitment and transfer of Syrian men to Azerbaijan through armed factions, some of which are affiliated with the Syrian National Army. The alleged role of Turkey is all the more concerning given the similar allegations addressed earlier this year by the Working Group in relation its role in recruiting, deploying and financing such fighters to take part in the conflict in Libya."
There has been widespread anger in Armenia at the government's decision to sign the peace-agreement and violent protests in the capital Yerevan have since broken out. The worry is that if atrocities are committed against the Armenians of Artsakh, it will give dictators and violent groups around the world a sense of impunity and the belief that the world will do nothing to stop them, as was seen in Rwanda in 1994 and throughout the Balkans in the 1990s.
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