Azerbaijan Attacks Armenia, Potentially Sparking War
Azerbaijan attacked the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region on Tuesday in a move against Armenia. Azerbaijan characterized the attack as an “anti-terrorist” operation.
Separatist Armenian human rights official Gegham Stepanyan reported 25 dead and 138 wounded from the attack. Reports say the incursion has displaced over 7,000 people.
Source of conflict: Although Nagorno-Karabakh is inhabited mostly by Armenians, it is internationally considered Azerbaijani territory. Armenia, which is primarily Christian, claims a historical right to the region. Primarily Muslim Azerbaijan accuses Armenia of displacing the local Azerbaijanis in the 1990s.
Azerbaijan claims it is only attacking military stations, but Armenia argues there is no military personnel or equipment in the area. It should be noted, however, that many Armenians volunteered to fight to tighten Armenia’s grip on Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia says Azerbaijan’s offensive is “ethnic cleansing.”
Azerbaijan says it will not back down until Armenian forces surrender. It will fight “until the end.”
In Armenia, the conflict sparked protests calling for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation.
Russia’s involvement: In 2020, the two countries battled over the region for six weeks. This ended when Russia (Armenia’s ally) mediated a ceasefire. Since then, Azerbaijan has been looking to finish 2020’s “incomplete victory.”
With Russia now focused on Ukraine, Azerbaijan is able to take advantage. Because Russia is pulling troops and weapons from many regions to help in its war on Ukraine, analysts believe it may not have adequate resources to act militarily against Azerbaijan.
Turkey’s involvement: Turkey is allied with Azerbaijan. The Turkish Foreign Ministry argued that Azerbaijan was forced to take action in the region, saying:
As a result of its rightful and legitimate concerns about the situation on the ground that it voiced repeatedly not being alleviated in nearly three [years] since the end of the Second Karabakh War, Azerbaijan was forced to take measures it deems necessary on its sovereign territory.
End result: This attack is significant. It shows that, though Russia-Turkey relations were recently strong, the opposite is now true. This hostile relationship was foretold in Bible prophecy.
Scripture details multiple coalitions that will arise in the lead-up to World War iii. One of these is a German-led European alliance. The Bible foretells that Turkey will ally with this European coalition—not the Russian or Islamic blocs. Turkey’s support of Azerbaijan shows that it is resisting Russia and preparing to move closer to Europe, thereby fulfilling Bible prophecy.
To learn more about Turkey’s prophesied role in this European coalition, read our free booklet The King of the South.
