2020 October 17

Daily news and anti-corruption report

Oct/17/2020 wrap-up: \\ War in Artsakh Republic (Karabakh) \\ Azerbaijan has so far targeted civilians in 130 cities & villages; videos \\ growing calls for Artsakh's international recognition \\ the battlefield \\ international response \\ ceasefire agreement \\ humanitarian aid & demonstrations
by ar_david_hh

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Prior events:

October 16, October 15, October 14, October 13, October 12, October 11 , October 10, October 9 , October 8 , October 7, October 6, October 5, October 4, October 3, October 2, October 1, September 30, September 29, September 28, September 27.

another collection of prior reports about jihadists recruited by Azerbaijan

Thread: https://twitter.com/razminfo/status/1317493312006344707

October 17th events

23:25 govt: some residents outside of Armenia's southern city Kapan received an SMS about an air alert by mistake.

Hours earlier, Azeris had bombed Artsakh capital Stepanakert and settlement Shosh, killing one civilian and injuring three.

Shosh image: https://twitter.com/MFAofArmenia/status/1317225426918510597

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031848.html

00:44 army: Azeri drones were spotted inside the Republic of Armenia territory. Appropriate measures are being taken.

1:29 Republic of Armenia MFA: we deny Azerbaijan's accusations that we opened fire at Azerbaijani lands.

1:37 Republic of Armenia MoD: we shot down two Azeri drones within the Armenian territory. The drones intruded near southern Qnatsakh, Artsavik, and Davit Bek settlements and conducted a strike against Armenian equipment and civilian infrastructure. No one was injured.

We condemn Azerbaijan's relentless attempts to expand the geography of the conflict and thus deal an irreversible blow to the entire regional security. Any encroachment on the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia will receive an adequate response.

1:39: Azerbaijan reports that several heavy missiles hit its second-largest city Ganja, destroying several structures. Azerbaijani media outlets began circulating a photo from the 2016 Syrian conflict showing a baby being removed from the rubble to present it as an aftermath of a strike on Ganja.

https://t.me/reartsakh/5049

https://twitter.com/301_AD/status/1317218713016434688?s=20

https://twitter.com/ShStepanyan/status/1317227960009707521

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031846.html

https://news.am/arm/news/608349.html

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031850.html

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031849.html

https://t.me/infocomm/23537

00:44: Armenia has accepted Russia's offer to send a military envoy to Moscow to meet Azeri counterparts to discuss the implementation of the ceasefire, however, Azeris refused to send an envoy for negotiations.

https://news.am/arm/news/608340.html

2:25: more volunteers are preparing to join the front lines.

https://youtu.be/NlqOpL2CARM?t=13

2:27: Azerbaijan is caught fabricating an Armenian attack again. Azeri officials shared a video of Armenian GRAD missiles allegedly "being launched at Ganja city". The problem is, GRAD missiles cannot reach Ganja city 40km away.

https://twitter.com/ShStepanyan/status/1317228241783050247

2:47: the United Nations Security Council will hold a closed-door meeting on Monday over the Artsakh conflict.

https://ria.ru/20201017/karabakh-1580222618.html , https://factor.am/296451.html

819 names of deceased Azeri soldiers have been identified by activists by checking social media and non-official sources because the govt of Azerbaijan keeps the casualties secret. Azerbaijan has sustained 5,900 losses in total.

https://t.me/KarabakhRecords/838

4:30: the civilian infrastructure of Stepanakert was bombed by Azerbaijan again.

https://twitter.com/aghavalyan/status/1317261707400695811

Morocco de-facto joins Saudi Arabia and UAE in the boycott of Turkish products. They did so by implementing a 90% tax on Turkish imports, which normally accounts for $2.24b/year. There is a growing tension between Turkey and Arab countries in Northern Africa and the Middle East.

https://hyetert.org/2020/10/16/morocco-joins-saudi-arabia-uae-in-de-facto-boycott-of-turkish-goods/

https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/jcmr6e/morocco_joins_saudi_arabia_in_placing_embargo_on/

7:46 capital Stepanakert and Shushi were bombed with large-caliber missiles early in the morning. Two civilians were injured.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031853.html , https://t.me/infocomm/23542

8:20 army spokesman Artsrun: there is no alternative to victory in this fight for survival, but victory will not come easy. It's hard and requires effort from everyone. Every minute, we must all ask what we have done for victory. Dear brothers, by painting the flag on a car and driving with loud horns in Yerevan, you're not contributing to the victory.

My female students are currently forming a detachment unit. That is a direct contribution to victory. Nari Syuni is taking concrete steps towards victory. Yesterday, a beautiful weeping girl was begged me to send her on a "suicide mission". Be worthy of that young woman. Stand up and make a step.

18-25-year-old soldiers have spent the past 20 days ignoring death. Let's be worthy of them.

10:47: I keep receiving letters from girls wanting to join the army after this morning's message. They are the guarantor of our existence. That's not surprising because there is no difference between a male and a female lion.

https://factor.am/296456.html

https://news.am/arm/news/608382.html

8:37 army: no major events on the battlefield last night. The Azeri artillery fire at Artsakh's cities was suppressed with the use of appropriate measures.

https://t.me/infocomm/23544

10:19: several videos documenting the destruction to civilian infrastructure in Stepanakert, Karmir Shuka, and other Artsakh civilian settlements by the Azeri bombardment.

https://youtu.be/o2-hRU6jI7s

https://youtu.be/Acjr0FOJYwA

https://youtu.be/ic-_5cs65YY

https://t.me/infocomm/23563?single

https://t.me/anna_news/8789

10:55 an interview with Daniel Decker, the American singer and a friend of Armenia, who is most famous for his "Adana" performance. "I want to return to Artsakh and walk on Shushi streets."

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031863.html

11:11 Ganja's military infrastructure: it's no secret that Azerbaijan places military objects within its cities. A video was recorded two weeks earlier showing a missile unit operating from within an Azeri village.

City Ganja is no exception. Artsakh govt has published the list of military objects that they've been targeting in Ganja.

A military airbase, helicopter squadron (MTV of the General Staff Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Armed Forces), a special forces brigade, an oil and lubricant storage facility run by the military, a machine-building plant run by the Ministry of Defense, an aviation repair facility, artillery repair facility.

Here are the locations of these military objects on a map: https://t.me/reartsakh/5059

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031864.html

11:22 Le Figaro article: Turkish imperialism violates the rights of the Armenian people. Throughout history, the world has turned a blind eye to the atrocities committed by Turkey.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031866.html

11:41: Russian ruling-party MP Milonov visited Stepanakert yesterday and expressed solidarity with Artsakh, after which he was placed on Azerbaijan's travel blacklist.

Milonov responded:. if Azerbaijan is the country that, as I've witnessed myself, bombs Artsakh civilians, if that's the country that sends Turkish drones to kill women and children, then I'd rather be on their blacklist and not visit that country.

Azerbaijan should come to its senses. A civilized country should not behave that way. Even if terrorists and Erdogan sit on his left shoulder and whisper things, Ilham Aliyev should not allow his name to be added to history's blacklist.

https://riafan.ru/1321965-eksklyuzivnoe-video-milonov-otvetil-na-vklyuchenie-ego-familii-v-chernyi-spisok-azerbaidzhana

https://factor.am/296486.html

12:08: Edgar Markosyan shot 10 Azeri tanks and received a medal. On one occasion he stopped a column of 7 tanks by shooting the first one, while the rest were picked up by his fellows. "When you first shoot a tank, you don't know what sound will come out. It was loud. The tower blew up 200 meters in the air. That's when I knew we're going to win. It's teamwork."

He's currently recovering from an injury in hospital, where he gave an interview:

https://youtu.be/ANZlmGpHh-c

https://factor.am/296495.html

12:21: Erdogan called Canadian PM Justin to complain about the suspension of the delivery of military technology to Turkey.

https://factor.am/296498.html

12:33 Q&A with ex-president Kocharyan's aide: Is Kocharyan still in Artsakh? He returned to Yerevan yesterday. Any particular reason? There is a lot of work to do against the Azeri-Turkish aggression. All efforts must be applied. Can you give details? No details, but hopefully the results will be visible in the coming days. There were some anti-Kocharyan campaigns on social media recently. It's coordinated by Azeri social media.

https://news.am/arm/news/608399.html

12:34: Russian-Armenian producer Sarik Andreasyan, who recently made the movie Earthquake about the 1988 Spitak quake, plans to produce a film about Artsakh.

"I will definitely make a film about it. Terrorists' actions must be documented in the cinema so that they can not remove that stain from themselves."

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031875.html

12:40: if elected president,. Joe Biden has promised to recognize the Armenian Genocide, more actively participate in the Karabakh conflict to achieve lasting peace, will take steps to monitor the ceasefire, will try to prevent Turkey or jihadists from intervening in the conflict, will make sure the military aid to Azerbaijan cannot be used to attack Armenia, etc.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031877.html

12:44: Armenian MoD denied the Azeri claim of shooting an Armenian Su-25 jet.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031878.html

12:51: Iranian govt outlet IRNA says two drones and an aircraft were shot [unclear by whom] near its border with Artsakh-Azerbaijan. They're identifying the owner.

(Hint: Artsakh doesn't fly jets and drones)

https://factor.am/296505.html

13:00 army: Azerbaijan's most recent losses are 1 aircraft, 5 drones, 2 armored vehicles, 150 soldiers.

Their total losses are 6109 soldiers, 4 TOS, 554 tanks and vehicles, 22 aircrafts, 16 helicopters, 186 drones.

https://factor.am/296511.html

13:11 National Security Services: lately, the president of Azerbaijan has been spreading lies about Armenia importing weapons via civilian flights. At the same time, there is evidence that Azerbaijan is importing international terrorists into its country. There are Il-76 and Boeing-747 jets that were spotted transporting terrorists and weapons from Afghanistan. Flights are also scheduled for October 19 and beyond.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031879.html

13:23: Beeline ISP has donated $200,000 to www.HimnaDram.org in addition to providing temporary free phone package to Artsakh refugees.

https://news.am/arm/news/608406.html

13:26: ex-president Serj Sargsyan contacted the president of Europe's largest EPP party Donald Tusk. EPP and Serj's HHK have close ties. Sargsyan asked Tusk to urge his fellow European colleagues to be more active and to take steps towards establishing peace.

https://news.am/arm/news/608407.html

13:39: QP MP Lusine Badalyan has joined the army. She will treat the wounded soldiers.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031881.html

14:10: several soldiers received medals. Two Lt. Colonels organized proper defense and won battles.

Seven privates and sergeants neutralized an Azeri attack, including the Colonel who was leading the attack, and captured the latter's valuable documents and radio equipment.

Volunteer Alexander Harutyunyan received the title of Artsakh Hero posthumously.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031883.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031885.html , https://t.me/infoteka24/9168

14:14: some people are starting to worry about the Baku-Ceyhan oil and gas pipelines.

El País article: The British Petroleum, which operates the pipeline, is taking steps to secure it after Azerbaijan accused Armenia of attempting to target the pipeline.

The future of the Caucasus energy corridor, however, is not as clear. Europe has an aggressive 2050 climate-change policy. Just recently, they also approved another measure aimed at 2030, which will cut carbon emissions by ~60%.

This leaves fewer opportunities to create infrastructure for the import of fossil fuels.

The new Nord Stream 2 pipeline, the TurkStream, the proposed eastern Mediterranean pipeline to extract gas from Israeli and Egyptian waters, the Algerian two pipes that are already operating at reduced capacity, plus the American liquid gas at record-low prices, have all flooded Europe with energy opportunities.

Everything points to the reduction of the Southern Gas Corridor's (Azeri-Turkey) importance, although Turkey, Israel, and Italy could be affected if this war damages it.

https://news.am/arm/news/608414.html

14:22: the president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev complained that Armenia is armed to its teeth despite having a small budget. "We know their budget. Where do the weapons come from?"

He then accused Russian-Armenian businessmen of sending weapons to Armenia. One of them, Tashir's owner Samvel Karapetyan, replied to Aliyev saying "our donations go towards building the schools and hospitals which your army is bombing today."

https://t.me/infocomm/23561 , https://news.am/arm/news/608446.html

14:25: Bruntsk NGO has organized a humanitarian aid collection for Artsakh residents.

Video: https://www.facebook.com/100000768523525/videos/3442694832432767/

15:02 WarGonzo military reporter: our sources in Artsakh say that Azerbaijan planned to use the modified AN-2 aircrafts-turned-drones as baits to locate and destroy Armenian air defense systems. The plan largely failed because these slow drones are easily downed with other cheaper methods like MANPADs.

https://t.me/wargonzo/3778

15:14: the Council of French Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Âlpes has donated 100,000 Euros to Artsakh as humanitarian aid. Artsakh MFA expressed gratitude.

https://t.me/infocomm/23568 , https://news.am/arm/news/608430.html

15:15: Los Angeles Sheriff Villanueva has welcomed the peaceful Armenian demonstrators and condemned the aggression against Artsakh.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031888.html

15:16: video of the Armenian demonstrators in San Francisco Golden Gate bridge area. "We were expecting 1,000 but 4,000 showed up."

https://youtu.be/zsh5VacTR5g

https://youtu.be/BtZVuTIlbCM

Demonstrations were held in Prague:

https://t.me/reartsakh/5060

15:35: Armenians held a demonstration in Geneva while chanting "Aliyev jihadist" and demanding official recognition of the Artsakh Republic. They marched towards the UN Human Rights office.

https://t.me/infocomm/23570

15:51: two Armenian POWs were captured by Azeris. Not to be confused with those who were executed on video earlier. The POWs are currently in an Azeri hospital. The European Court for Human Rights is handling their case.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031892.html

15:54: a photo is published showing the location and the type of Turkish soldiers deployed in Azerbaijan. The details were released by the Russian outlet Kommersant yesterday.

Photo: https://t.me/reartsakh/5064

16:02: Armenians held a demonstration in front of BBC news headquarters in London and demanded a fair coverage of the Turkish-Azeri aggression against Artsakh. The outlet is accused of being biased and "promoting Azeri lies."

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031894.html

BBC crew was sent to Armenia's Vardenis region. They interviewed a local and recorded the damage done to civilian infrastructure.

Video: https://t.me/infoteka24/9166

16:08 Artsakh govt: this morning's bombing of capital Stepanakert was with the use of 9 heavy missiles that targeted shops and houses.

Photos: https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031895.html

16:17: an expert talks about the legal ground for Artsakh's independence, the principle of "remedial secession" if a host country oppresses a minority on ethnic grounds, etc.

https://factor.am/296554.html

16:32: in other news. German Foreign Minister Hayko has canceled his trip to Turkey over the hostile activities by Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031898.html

16:44: Armenian and Israeli demonstrators organized a car caravan in Israel in support of Artsakh. A group of Azeris noticed/knew of the demonstration and attacked one of the cars and its passengers.

https://youtu.be/Yb08brCjQJM?t=22

https://youtu.be/ObGld0lubYQ

https://t.me/sashakots/17420?single

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031907.html

16:51: Armenians and other nationalities joined in Chechia and held a protest to condemn the aggression. They called for the official recognition of Artsakh.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031899.html

17:01: music, speeches, and flags. Armenians held a demonstration in Brussels.

https://youtu.be/yoGahPLKc2Y

17:42 Senor Hasratyan: the Azeri-Turkish army's long-range artillery warfare tactics are starting to have the boomerang effect. By choosing this style of warfare, Turkey has placed Azerbaijan in a difficult position, in which the recipient of return fire is not Turkey but Azerbaijan.

https://news.am/arm/news/608447.html

18:11 Armenia MoD: we shot 3 more Azeri drones in the Republic of Armenia around 4 pm. Another one was shot in Artsakh.

https://t.me/ShushanStepanyan/6

18:16: Artsakh war veteran and Sasna Street leader Jirayr Sefilian will also join the front lines. He received permission from the authorities. The group began recurring volunteers.

https://www.aravot.am/2020/10/17/1144505/

https://t.me/reartsakh/5063

18:32 Edgar Elbakyan: Azerbaijan accused Armenia of shelling civilians in Arazbar. A satellite photo clearly shows how close the Azeri army placed their artillery positions to the village, thus endangering the civilian population.

Photo: https://t.me/reartsakh/5070

19:17 Artsakh president Arayik: the heavy battles continue across almost the entire line of contact. South was the heaviest. The defense army is carrying out its mission brilliantly, inflicting heavy damage on enemy troops and equipment.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031909.html

19:19 Armenian MFA: the international community should move from words to action and use the available tools to stop the aggression against Artsakh residents. The most effective way to restore peace in the region is to recognize the independence of Artsakh.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031910.html

19:45: ARF party held a meeting with first president Levon Ter-Petrosyan. 13 parties had earlier signed a letter urging the government to invite all previous presidents to create an advisory group.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031913.html , https://news.am/arm/news/608426.html

19:48: soldiers send photos from the front lines:

https://news.am/arm/news/608479.html

19:53 Artsakh Ombudsman: Since September 27th, Azerbaijan's indiscriminate bombing of 130 civilian settlements have left 36 dead, 150 injured, 7800 damaged buildings and civilian infrastructure objects.

https://news.am/arm/news/608480.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031918.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031920.html

19:56: the French city of Limone has officially recognized the independence of the Artsakh Republic. 👍

https://factor.am/296628.html

20:47: Azerbaijan published a drone video showing the alleged bombing of "military storage". It turned out to be s civilian hospital that they illegally bombed earlier.

Armenian MoD shared Azerbaijan's own video as evidence of a war crime.

https://factor.am/296637.html

https://news.am/arm/news/608485.html

21:37: Yezidi-Armenian MP Rustam Bakoyan thanked his compatriots for volunteering to join the army. "The spirits are high. Yezidis must be prepared to fight for their right to exist. There are no 'Yezidis' and 'Armenians' in war."

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031927.html

21:4: Russian MFA Lavrov spoke with MFAs of AM and AZ.

https://t.me/infocomm/23606

21:48: actor Vardan Petrosyan will perform his "Verelk" in Yerevan and Gyumri on October 23-24. It's dedicated to the army. "As Hovhannes Baghramyan said, having a strong rear is half of the victory."

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=669271473731087

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031928.html

22:00 army spokesman briefing: the opponent resumed the attacks in the same directions early in the morning. Northern battles weren't as fierce as in the past few days.

The battles were heavy in the south. They launched a widespread attack. In one location they brought 20-30 vehicles in an attempt to develop an attack but our artillery's precision strikes struck them and made them retreat.

There were other battles in the south, some of which are still happening.

As we've seen lately, Azeris don't use a large number of armored vehicles anymore (probably because they lost >500). They use airforce, drones, and artillery.

I've met men and women who hid their real age and certain health issues in an attempt to join the front lines. Some of them had never served in the army for various reasons. Lately, they've been visiting military commissariats to voluntarily draft. After receiving a rejection they always write to me and ask how they can join. This is why we're going to win.

Q: have you considered asking the CSTO military bloc for assistance with air defense?

A: I won't answer the political part, but currently we find solutions to air defense issues ourselves. We are going to handle this ourselves. We could receive aid, but no one is going to fight for us.

Q: how can non-citizens volunteer in the army?

A: the law prohibits the recruitment of non-citizens. Write a letter to the government for more details.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=2786190648329002

22:20: Ayatollah Ali Sistani has issued a fatwa to prohibit the Shia world from purchasing products from Israeli sellers. Azerbaijan has a Shia population, while its leadership buys Israeli weapons, about which the Iranian news outlets have been critical about.

https://t.me/infoteka24/9194

22:23 MFA: Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed on a humanitarian ceasefire at 00:00 on October 18th.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031934.html

22:39: one more 2015 Syrian conflict photo is being circulated by Azeri media claiming to be from Ganja.

https://t.me/infoteka24/9196

COVID stats

+3,937 tested. +1,540 infected +11 deaths. +384 healed. 13,694 active. 344,053 tested.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031869.html

top taxpayers

IRS published the names of the top-1000 largest taxpayers in the January-September period.

Grand Tobacco, Gazprom-Armenia, Zangezur copper mine, GeoProMining, CPS Oil, etc.

They paid AMD 721b this year. Last year it was 765b after a 13% growth.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1031902.html , https://m.armeniasputnik.am/economy/20191104/20975877/Vorqanov-e-avelacel-HH-xoshor-harkatuneri-vcharac-harkery-Pashinyany-nor-tver-e-hraparakel.html?mobile_return=no

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Humanitarian donations for Artsakh: www.HimnaDram.org

Tax-deductible donations from the U.S.: www.ArmeniaFund.org

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You've read 3028 words.

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Link to original report and comments: https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/jd0vn9/oct172020_wrapup_war_in_artsakh_republic_karabakh/

Disclaimer: All the accused are innocent until proven guilty by the court of law, even if they may sound as being guilty. Currency in Armenian Drams ֏ unless specified otherwise. Helpful overview of Armenia's media ownership and leanings.