Patriotic War or “Operation Iron Fist”

On the morning of 27 September 2020, Armenia’s Armed Forces

launched a large-scale attack, subjecting settlements and frontline
positions of the Azerbaijani army to intensive fire from large-calibre
weapons, mortars and artillery devices of various calibre, following
which, in order to halt the Armenian army’s attack and ensure the
security of the civilian population, the Azerbaijani army command
decided to launch a rapid counter-offensive along the whole front.
As a result of these clashes, martial law and a general mobilization
were declared in Armenia. In Azerbaijan, martial law and a curfew
were declared, with a partial mobilization being declared on 28
September. The clashes escalated rapidly into the Second Karabakh
War.
Many countries and also the United Nations called for a cessation
of hostilities, for both sides to reduce tensions and resume talks
without delay. Afghanistan, Ukraine, Pakistan, Turkey and the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus expressed support for
Azerbaijan. On 29 September, the UN Security Council held an
emergency meeting on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. Although
a humanitarian ceasefire, supported by Russia and mediated by the
International Committee of the Red Cross, was accepted by both
Armenia and Azerbaijan, with official effect from 10 October,
terrorist violations by Armenia’s Armed Forces that targeted
civilians led to the suspension of wounded and prisoner exchange.
The background
Especially following the 1994 Bishkek Protocol signed with
Armenia, Azerbaijan, which lost 20 percent of its territory as a
result of the First Karabakh War, held long-term diplomatic talks
with various international organizations. The purpose was to
implement UN Security Council resolutions that demanded the
unconditional withdrawal of occupying forces from Azerbaijani
territory. The peace process was severely shaken by populist
statements such as "Karabakh is Armenia, full stop", by Nikol
Pashinyan, who came to power in Armenia after the colour
revolution of 2018, as well as a succession of provocative and
illegal visits to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and other
actions.
In a continuation of those provocations, in March 2019, while on an
official visit to the United States, Armenia’s Minister of Defence
David Tonoyan announced a policy of "new war for new lands."
Tonoyan's statement was accompanied by a series of military
adventures on the line of contact. In July 2020, units of Armenia’s
Armed Forces used artillery fire in an attempt to seize favourable
positions on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border towards Tovuz, but
were unsuccessful. On 23 July, the same forces announced the
launch of joint air defence system exercises with Russia. Following
them, Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces hosted forces from Turkey for a
number of joint military exercises until early September. Meanwhile,
in August, an Armenian military sabotage-reconnaissance group
attempted sabotage in the Goranboy area of the line of contact,
but was forced to retreat with losses and the capture of the group's
commander, Senior Lieutenant Gurgin Alberyan.
In addition to direct military provocation, and in violation of
international law, thousands of Lebanese Armenians, including a
large number of YPG and PKK terrorists, were resettled in the
occupied territories, following the explosion in the port of Beirut
and this, too, exacerbated the conflict. Tensions peaked in late
August 2020 when Anna Hakobyan, wife of Armenian Prime
Minister Pashinyan, publicized her participation in illegal military
training in the occupied territories. However ineffective, these
provocative actions and statements from Armenia have been
assessed by researchers as a total negation of the negotiation
process.
 On 25 September 2020, Republic of Azerbaijan President Ilham
Aliyev, in online debate at the 75th session of the UN General
Assembly, noted the deaths of Azerbaijani servicemen and a 76-
year-old civilian, as well as serious damage to civil infrastructure;
the results of Armenian attacks. Further, the president declared that
more than a thousand tons of military equipment had been
transported to Armenia by military cargo planes since 17 July. On
27 September, Hikmet Hajiyev, presidential aide and head of the
Foreign Policy Department in the Presidential Administration,
issued a statement that at around 06:00 there had been a gross
violation of the ceasefire by Armenia’s Armed Forces. On the same
day, Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces launched a counter-offensive to
prevent further provocations and martial law was declared in the
country.
The course of the battles
In the battles that followed, Azerbaijan advanced rapidly and
incurred very few losses. Initially liberating a number of villages
and strategic bridges, its forces had liberated the whole of
Karabakh’s southern border with Iran by 22 October and they then
began moving towards the Lachin Corridor on 23 October. That
corridor was the only relatively major highway connecting Armenia
with the so-called Karabakh entity; control of it would prevent
Armenia from replenishing fuel, ammunition and military
reinforcements. Until then, Azerbaijan had put the Armenian army
under daytime attack from conventional artillery, mortars and even
direct fire and guided missiles to halt their military convoys. During
the war, Jabrayil was liberated on 4 October, Fuzuli on 17 October,
Zengilan on 20 October, Gubadli on 25 October and Shusha city on
8 November.
The Shusha operation, unprecedented in modern
military history
Details of the patriotic war have not yet been fully clarified, but it
is safe to say that the operation to liberate Shusha from occupation
will be forever in the annals of history. The crown, the beating heart
of Karabakh - Shusha is a natural fortification, so it was impossible
to enter the city with tanks or other heavy weaponry. There were two
options to take it. Firstly, to defeat the enemy’s forces in the city by
air strikes and artillery fire. Azerbaijan’s military command did not
choose that way, due to the inevitably extensive destruction of the
city that would result.
The alternative was hand-to-hand combat, and this was the strategy
adopted. Our heroic soldiers and officers traversed thick forests and
deep ravines with light weapons, climbed rocks and mountains and
defeated the enemy in face-to-face battle. A foreign journalist in
Khankendi during the Shusha operation described the deplorable
situation of the Armenians as follows: the defenders of Shusha were
scattered. Dozens of wounded were taken in military ambulances to
Khankendi hospital, covered in blood. The rest of the fighters,
exhausted and throwing off their military uniforms, went down the
mountain. Ambulances came and went non-stop. Wounded soldiers
were piled on top of each other inside. Their injuries were evidence
of hand-to-hand combat. Another report, published by Le Monde at
the time, said that the defeated soldiers of the Armenian army left
Shusha wounded and fled to Khankendi.
On 8 November, the victorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham
Aliyev gave our people the good news of Shusha’s liberation. The
winning of Shusha, in fact, decided the fate of the war. The next day
came news that more than 70 villages had been liberated, and one
day later Prime Minister Pashinyan was forced to sign an act of
capitulation, accepting the terms of the President of Azerbaijan.
On 10 November, the President of Azerbaijan, the Prime Minister
of Armenia and the President of Russia signed a statement declaring
a complete ceasefire and end to all military operations in the
conflict zone. According to the terms of the statement, Aghdam was
liberated on 20 November, Kelbajar on 25 November, and Lachin on
1 December without a single shot being fired or single casualty.
The statement also announced the planned construction of new
transport communications connecting the Nakhchivan Autonomous
Republic with the western regions of the rest of Azerbaijan. Thus,
Azerbaijan's military victory had forced Armenia to capitulate. The
ceasefire was violated on 11 December - the first time since the end
of military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh and the start of
peacekeeping operations by the Russian Federation. The violation
of the ceasefire was registered in Hadrut, where one Azerbaijani
soldier was wounded.
Azerbaijan's military superiority
The Azerbaijani army made extensive use of the Israeli-made Harop
trike weaponry during the 44-day war, including the Israel-
Azerbaijan, jointly-produced Strike drone, as well as other
UAVs like the Bayraktar TB2 strike drones. Azerbaijan destroyed $1
billion worth of Armenian military equipment with the Bayraktar
TB2 drones alone. They were used to deliver precise strikes on
enemy equipment and manpower, as well as directing artillery fire
and conducting reconnaissance. Russian military expert Pavel
Felgenhauer noted that despite an approximate balance in the
respective militaries, the Azerbaijani army had a technological
advantage.
Losses in the Second Karabakh War
According to information from Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defence,
its armed forces incurred losses of 2907 service personnel in the
war. This number may increase following DNA analysis of
other bodies and enquiries into the fates of more than 100 personnel
still missing. The wounded are being treated in medical facilities.
Losses of military equipment were relatively minor.
Although the Armenian side confirms losses of 2,425 service
personnel during the war, in reality the figure is much higher.
As a result of the 44-day war, Armenia lost 10 x S-300 missiles
and their tactical-combat vehicles, 366 tanks, 352 cannon of various
calibres, 22 unmanned aerial vehicles, 5 x Su-25 aircraft, 50 Tor,
Osa, Kub and Krug anti-aircraft missile systems. At the same time,
of particular significance was the destruction in combat operations
of the following ballistic missiles: 97 Grad, 4 Smerch, 1 Tos
thermobaric, 2 Hurricane, 1 Yars and 1 Tochka-U, as well as Elbrus
missile complexes.
The value of military equipment destroyed or captured by the
Azerbaijani army is estimated at a minimum of $3.8 billion.
Foreign, mercenary and terrorist participants in the war
Prior to the conflict, Turkish sources reported that many members of
the YPG and PKK from Iraq and Syria had been relocated to
Nagorno-Karabakh to train Armenian armed fighters against
Azerbaijan. On 30 September, they reported that about 300 PKK
fighters had been moved to Nagorno-Karabakh via Iran. According
to the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on 28 September, there were
mercenaries of Armenian origin from Syria and various countries in
the Middle East among Armenian casualties. On 30 September,
Hikmet Hajiyev said that, "the international community must
respond adequately to the use of Armenian terrorist forces
against Azerbaijan." A number of PKK and YPG members also
admitted in recent interviews with various media outlets that
members of those terrorist organizations were fighting on the
Armenian side in Karabakh.
Further, it is known that citizens of Armenian descent living in
Lebanon, Syria, France and some Latin American countries took
part in hostilities at the urging of the Armenian Diaspora, and in
violation of the principles of international law. On 1 October, the
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that Syrian
fighters of Armenian descent had been taken from Syria to Armenia.

The domestic situation in Azerbaijan during the Second

Karabakh War; a unity of people and government.
Political and economic stability prevailed in Azerbaijan during
the Second Karabakh War; the highest level of unity was apparent
between people and government.
On the morning of 27 September, the Ministry of Transport,
Communications and High Technologies announced that a number
of restrictions had been imposed on the internet within the country
to counter provocations by Armenia. The State Committee for Work
with the Diaspora also appealed to Azerbaijanis living abroad not
to spread unofficial, unspecified or biased information on social
networks or electronic and other media. At a meeting in the Milli
Majlis (parliament) discussing the military situation, it was decided
to declare a curfew in Baku, Ganja, Goygol, Yevlakh and a number
of regions from 00:00 on 27 September. By that order, Vilayat
Eyvazov, Minister of Internal Affairs, was appointed commandant
of the territories in which curfew was applied during martial law.
Azerbaijan Airlines’ press service also announced that all airports
in Azerbaijan would be closed to regular passenger flights until 30
September. President Ilham Aliyev issued an order for partial
mobilization in Azerbaijan and instructed the State Service for
Mobilization and Conscription to ensure conscription of military
officials and the implementation of measures arising from military-
transport requirements in accordance with approved plans. That
order came into force on 28 September. The Azerbaijani Army’s
success in preventing military advances by the Armenian Armed
Forces and its victories over the enemy achieved along the front
were met with great joy and enthusiasm by the Azerbaijani people.
Azerbaijani citizens and those living abroad, as well as Turkish
citizens, sent numerous letters of congratulation and gratitude to
President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev for those
achievements. Thousands of Turkish citizens awaiting a "command
for war against the Armenians" also sent him letters, saying they
were always ready to free the fraternal state from the occupiers.
Also since 27 September, the country’s tricolour flag has flown on
the streets of Baku, on the balconies of residential buildings, shop
fronts and other facilities. People fly the flag from their homes in
honour of the successes achieved at the front and the liberation of
their lands. Cars are also adorned with smaller flags. On 30
September, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, together with the
Azerbaijani FA, organized a flag campaign "We are strong
together." Volunteers distributed hundreds of flags in different parts
of the capital, Baku.