AZERBAIJAN CLAIMS TO HAVE CAPTURED KARABAKH’S SECOND-LARGEST CITY AFTER 28 YEARS

Sun 08 October 2020:

Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, has said his country’s forces have taken Shusha, the second-largest city in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, though Armenian officials denied it had been captured. Shusha was occupied by Armenia on May 8, 1992.

Shusha, which Armenians call Shushi, is nine miles (15km) south of the enclave’s largest city, Stepanakert, and is of cultural and strategic importance to both sides.

“(This day) will become a great day in the history of Azerbaijan,” Aliyev said, announcing that Baku’s troops had taken the city.

In Baku, Azeris gathered in large numbers to celebrate, waving flags and chanting slogans, while drivers sounded their car horns.

Officials from the Nagorno-Karabakh region and Armenia’s defence ministry denied Aliyev’s statement.

“Shushi remains an unattainable pipe dream for Azerbaijan. Despite heavy destruction, the fortress city withstands the blows of the enemy,” the Nagorno-Karabakh rescue service said.

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