2010 Mardakert clashes

2010 Chailu (Getik), Mardakert Skirmish
Date June 18-19, 2010 Location Chailu (Getik), Mardakert district; Fizuli, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Result Azerbaijanian withdrawal
Belligerents
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic	Azerbaijan
Strength
Unknown	20
Casualties and losses
4 dead, 4 wounded	2 dead

The 2010 Mardakert skirmish was an Azerbaijani raid across the line of contact dividing Azerbaijan and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic on the night of June 18-19, 2010 that left Armenian forces with the heaviest casualties since the Mardakert skirmishes of March 2008.

Skirmish and subsequent events

The skirmish occurred near the village of Chaylu, located in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic's province of Mardakert. According to the Defense Ministry of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Armenian troops along the line of contact were attacked by a 20-man Azerbajani reconnaissance or sabotage unit at about 11:30 PM on June 18. The heavy fighting resulted in the deaths of four Armenian soldiers as well as one Azerbaijani serviceman. The body of the Azerbaijani soldier was left at the post, as the rest of his unit retreated. Karabakh Armenian forces retaliated the next day by launching an attack near Fizuli on June 19-20, killing one Azerbaijani serviceman.

Reaction

The incident took place just twenty-four hours after a meeting in Saint Petersburg, Russia between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan hosted by Russia's Dmitry Medvedev. The president of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan called the skirmish an "Azeri provocation," which took place hours after he had met his counterpart, Ilham Aliyev for peace talks regarding the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan's defense ministry confirmed the incident, describing it as a "shootout" and Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov warned that the recent armed incident is a "message to the entire world that such incidents will repeat unless Armenia liberates Azerbaijani lands".

The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group condemned the skirmish and stated that it was "an unacceptable violation of the 1994 Cease-Fire Agreement and...contrary to the stated commitment of the sides to refrain from the use of force or the threat of the use of force". The use of military force at this juncture "can only be seen as an attempt to damage the peace process."

Analysis

Richard Giragosian, the director of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies and a former defense analyst for Jane's, described the intrusion as "either a test on Armenian response or a sign of lack of command and discipline in the Azerbaijani military." He described it as "more professional and more deadly than previous such incursions" and had been planned days in advance. The fact that the attack began with an Azerbaijani sniper inflicting a fatal head wound on an Armenian soldier was further evidence of this, he said.

The clashes represent the worst violation of the cease fire since the Mardakert skirmishes of 2008.

See also

• Nagorno-Karabakh War
• 2008 Mardakert skirmishes