The armed forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan are fighting for the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Armenian forces have shot down at least one helicopter in Azerbaijan. Both countries say some civilians have been killed in the fighting. The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the 4400 km2 Nagorno-Karabakh region is very old. But in recent times, this conflict has resurfaced. As tensions rise, members of the Armenian Reserve Forces are being deployed.
How much is the military power?
Azerbaijan is ahead of Armenia, according to Global Firepower, which lists the world's military powers. According to the 2020 report, Azerbaijan ranks 64th out of 136 countries and Armenia ranks 111th.
Although the population of Azerbaijan is 1 crore 46 thousand, the population of Armenia is only 3 million 36 thousand. In terms of area, where Armenia is only 29,743 square kilometers, Azerbaijan is almost three times the area of ​​6,600 square kilometers.
Comparison of military power between the two countries
|
Field
|
Azerbaijan
|
Armenia
|
|
Rank |
64 |
111 |
|
Total Population |
10,046,516 |
3,038,217 |
|
Fit-for-Service |
3,781,760 |
1,396,726 |
|
Active Personnel |
126,000 |
45,000 |
|
Reserve Personnel |
300,000 |
200,000 |
|
Defense Budget (USD) |
$2,805,000,000 |
$1,385,000,000 |
|
Total Aircraft |
147 |
64 |
|
Combat Aircraft |
17 |
0 |
|
Dedicated Attack |
12 |
9 |
|
Transports |
1 |
3 |
|
Trainers |
29 |
13 |
|
Helicopters |
88 |
37 |
|
Attack Helos |
17 |
20 |
|
Combat Tanks |
570 |
110 |
|
Armored Vehicles |
1,451 |
748 |
|
Self-Propelled Artillery |
187 |
38 |
|
Field Artillery |
227 |
150 |
|
Rocket Projectors |
162 |
68 |
|
Fleet Strength |
31 |
0 |
|
Submarines |
4 |
0 |
|
Frigates |
1 |
0 |
|
Coastal Patrol |
13 |
0 |
|
Mine Warfare |
7 |
0 |
|
Airports |
37 |
11 |
|
Oil Production |
789,300 bbl |
0 bbl |
Source: GFP
The total number of members of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan is 1 lakh 26 thousand. Their reserve force has 3 lakh personnel. The number of Armenian troops is less than half that. Azerbaijan's military budget is almost double that of Armenia. While Azerbaijan spends ৮ 2.8 billion on the military, Armenia spends 1.38 billion. The total number of aircraft in the military of Azerbaijan is 147. On the other hand, there are 64 Armenian aircraft. Armenia has no warplanes, but has nine attack aircraft. Azerbaijan has 17 warplanes. Apart from this, they have 12 attack aircraft. Although Azerbaijan is ahead in terms of the number of helicopters, Armenia is ahead in the list of attack helicopters. Azerbaijan has 88 helicopters, of which 17 are attack helicopters. And Armenia has 36 helicopters. 20 of them are attack helicopters. Azerbaijan has 560 tanks and 1,451 armored cars. The number of tanks in Armenia is much less. They have only 110 tanks. On the other hand, the number of their armored cars is 748. Azerbaijan is also ahead in terms of artillery. The country has 187 automatic artillery guns and 227 field artillery. Armenia has 38 automatic artillery guns and 150 field artillery. Azerbaijan has 162 rocket projectors and Armenia has less than half, 68. There are no Armenian warships. However, the navy of Azerbaijan has a total of 31 warships. Among them are a frigate and 4 submarines. There are no such ships in Armenia. In addition, Azerbaijan has seven mine-clearing warships and 13 patrol boats capable of patrolling the coast. Neither of the two countries has an aircraft carrier or destroyer.
Others
There are 11 airports in Armenia and 37 in Azerbaijan. Armenia has no merchant ships, but Azerbaijan has 313 merchant ships. Azerbaijan is far ahead of Armenia in terms of roads, railways and ports. Azerbaijan is rich in oil resources. They export a huge amount of oil. But there is no Armenian oil. They have to meet the demand by importing oil.
The United States is the most powerful country in the world militarily. Then there are Russia, China and India. Other top 10 countries include Japan, South Korea, France, the United Kingdom, Egypt and Brazil.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia has been going on for decades. Both sides are now in conflict again. Heavy fighting is going on between the two rival neighbouring countries
They are
blaming each other for new clashes. Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry says
Armenian-backed forces fired on the town of Tartar and they are retaliating. A
spokesman for the Armenian Defense Ministry said 200 Armenians had been
injured. Armenia says Azerbaijan is firing artillery at the region.
International reaction:
The international community is concerned about this war. They called for peace in the region. The European Union called for an end to the war and not for foreign intervention. EU spokesman Peter Stano on Monday expressed concern that the fighting would jeopardize regional stability. The European Union (EU) has called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to suspend military action and return to the negotiating table.
The German government has called for an immediate end to the war. Russia's foreign ministry has called on all parties to exercise restraint. To resolve the conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin has told French President Emmanuel Macron that he is ready to make strong diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict. U.S. President Donald Trump also responded to the fight by saying that his administration would try to end the violence in the region through "good relations."
The Chinese Foreign Ministry called on Yerevan and Baku to resolve their differences through dialogue. On Sunday, Turkey and Russia were quick to respond to the violence. Azerbaijan's ally Turkey blamed Armenia for the arson. Turkey promised to support Azerbaijan.
Russia has close ties with Armenia and has called for an end to hostilities. Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed serious concern over the resumption of large-scale clashes. The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia will create an imbalance between Russia and Turkey. Russia wants to side with its ally Armenia but does not want to provoke a conflict with Turkey. Russia is therefore holding intensive talks to keep the situation calm. Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev. Erdogan called Armenia the biggest threat to peace in the region and called on the world to support Azerbaijan in its fight against aggression and atrocities. Armenian Prime Minister Nicole Pasinayan has called on the international community to stop Ankara's involvement in the conflict, accusing it of "dangerous behavior".
Iran also called on both sides to immediately stop fighting. Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said that Tehran was fully prepared to mediate renegotiations between the opposition.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on both Baku and Yerevan to stop fighting and return to talks.
Background of the conflict:
Nagorno-Karabakh is one of the few border disputes left after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is An enclave originally inhabited by Armenians, it came from Azerbaijan in 1988 and declared itself the ArtSakh Republic after the intense war of 1999-94.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992, Karabakh was occupied
by Yerevan-backed Armenian separatists. About 30,000 people were killed in the
1994 conflict. About 20 percent of the territory of Azerbaijan was under the
control of Armenian forces. The Christian community in the Nagarno-Karabakh
region wants to join Armenia. Conflicts between the majority Muslim population
of Azerbaijan and the Nagorno-Karabakh region originated in1936, when the
inter-Caucasian Soviet republic was broken up into three separate republics
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia.
Recent Conflict:
An explosion on the border between the two counties last July killed 17 soldiers on both sides. In April, 110 people were killed in the deadliest fighting. Azerbaijan is committed to taking back the region by using force if necessary. Armenia, on the other hand, said it would do everything possible to protect the region. Armenia claims that Azerbaijani artillery attacks on Nagorno-Karabakh are intensifying. Fighting between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces over the disputed territory escalated on Monday. Azeri aircrafts have been fired at the region. Most of Karabakh's population sought shelter.
The strongest attacks took place in the valley of the Aras River bordering Iran and on the Matagis-Talish front, northeast of the region. The Armenian side said 22 tanks and a dozen vehicles and 370 people had been killed and many more wounded. Artur Sarsayan, deputy commander of the Nagorno-Karabakh military, said 84 people had been killed and more than 200 wounded so far.
In a video conference on Monday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to immediately withdraw Armenian troops from Nagrono-Karabakh. Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Armenia the "biggest threat" to peace in the region and called for an end to "occupation" of Azeri land.
The Armenians expelled Azerbaijani from Nagrono-Karabakh, and they also annexed Azari land. Nagorno-Karabakh became a de-facto independent state. Although it is not recognized and relies on Armenian support. Azerbaijan has never abandoned its claim to the lost provinces or territories occupied by Armenia. The result has been occasional military clashes between Yerevan and Baku over the past 30 years.
Azerbaijan feels much stronger than Armenia in recent times than 30 years ago. Azerbaijan has become financially prosperous from its vast oil reserves. The population of Azari has also increased compared to Armenia. Azerbaijan has invested heavily in its military. At present, Turkey supports Azerbaijan. Although Russia has officially taken a neutral stance on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, this neutrality means supporting Armenia. If Russia does not join the war in support of Armenia, Azerbaijan is likely to win the war.
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