The following report was written on location by Trey Blanton for RaymondIbrahim.com.
Trey Blanton, STEPANAKERT, Artsakh (CINFUSA.org) — Armenians in the Republic of Artsakh woke up on September 13, 2022 to an uncertain future after Azerbaijan attacked Armenia in the dead of night.
Armenia’s Ministry of Defense reports Azeri forces hit several villages using drones, artillery, and mortars.
More than 100 Armenian soldiers have been killed in the attack so far.
Azerbaijan made numerous statements leading up to the attack that Armenia had been provoking the Azeris with “subversive actions.” This accusation has been rejected by Armenia as misinformation.
Instead, Azerbaijan has violated the cease-fire several times since I have arrived in Artsakh at the end of June, including the shooting death of a 20-year-old Sergeant on Sept. 5.
Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on social media that Armenia would seek assistance from the United Nations Security Council, as well as the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has made several claims since 2020 that Armenian territory, including the capital Yerevan, rightfully belongs to the Azeris.
These Azeri claims and assaults on Armenia violate international law, but many Westerners only fault the Armenians.
Luke Coffey is a Senior Fellow with the Hudson Institute. Coffey’s social media posts display hypocrisy as he cheers for Ukrainian success against Russia’s invasion, but advises that Armenians capitulate to Azeri aggression.
In a previous article, I observed a similar policy with the Heritage Foundation who advises a greater alliance between the United States and Azerbaijan.
Correcting Misinformation
Europeans and Americans who support Azerbaijan’s oil-rich dictator often cite “international law” to report that Nagorno-Karabakh, another name for the Republic of Artsakh, is Azeri land that Armenians have “occupied” since the end of the first Karabakh war in 1994.
This is incredibly misleading and doesn’t reflect the complex history.
Armenians have inhabited the south Caucasus since ancient times. The Kingdom of Armenia under its king Tiridates III converted to Christianity in 301 — the first nation to do so.
The advance of Islam, beginning in the 7th century, saw Muslims systemically conquer Christian lands.
Of particular note to Armenia and Azerbaijan, the ethnic breakdown of the modern Azeri is predominately Oghuz Seljuq Turk, who didn’t arrive in the area until the 11th century, and Iranian bloodlines that were formed under Islam.
All other composites of Azeri DNA come from the rape and inter-marriage with the indigenous populations of the region.
“Azerbaijan” as a country didn’t exist until 1918. Prior to that, the land was divided between the Russian and Iranian-Persian empires.
Armenians located in the city Baku (then under the Russian empire) comprised only 17% of the population in 1897 but contributed the most to modernizing industry and held prominence in governance.
The Azeri population, with support from the Ottoman Empire/Turkey, massacred hundreds of Armenians in Baku in 1905, 1918, and then 1990, which led to the expulsion of 200,000 Armenians, who had also been terrorized by violence.
Cries of, “Ya Allah [with God],” could be heard in the streets, signifying the importance of Islam, even as Azerbaijan became a nominally secular state.
While under the Soviet Union, Stalin declared that Nagorno-Karabakh, though populated mostly by Armenians, would be under the control over Azerbaijan — though the Armenians were granted a great deal of autonomy.
The pending fall of the Soviet Union led to internal debate in Nagorno-Karabakh whether to declare independence or join with the Republic of Armenia. This debate led to the 1990 massacre of Armenians in Baku and sparked the first Karabakh war for independence.
Present-Day
Azerbaijan, with the support of Turkey, enjoyed a great deal of success in the Azeri-Armeno War of 2020.
The international community refused to condemn the invasion, citing “international law,” and allowed Azerbaijan to commit war crimes, while the supposed NATO-ally, Turkey, flew in jihadist terrorists from Syria and Libya.
Many in the West refuse to accept the Islamic component of these wars. Yes, there are non-religious reasons to conquer land, but the underlying motivation for the Turks, since their conversion in the 11th century, has been to be a relentless, Islamic army for Allah.
One need only observe the words and actions of Turkey’s President Recep Erdogan to see he desires a renewed Turkish-Islamic Caliphate.
Now that Erdogan’s “brother,” Aliyev, has violated international law by invading a sovereign nation, will the international community finally respond with the same efforts it has for Ukraine?
Thank you, Trey Blanton and Raymond Ibrahim. The full Azeri assault has stretched all along the borders with Sovereign Armenia, not just Armenian Artsakh. The level of media disinformation, fault-finding, and bothsiderism is beyond the pale. This is a US/Turkey/Israel project. Azerbaijan is the tool.
Most Western people do whatever their politicians tell them to do, and think whatever they’re told to think. Western politicians don’t even need to exert themselves, this is how tragic the situation is. It’s counterproductive to themselves, as more Achmeds will exponentially show them.
This is why now the West needs heroes more than ever before, like this wonderful Saint: https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2022/09/an-orthodox-student-who-defied-hitler-and-was-glorified-by-the-church
Or like the heroes in your Heroes of the West book.
Islam is the underlying force, but someone wants this to happen now. Lucine thinks this is a US/Turkey/Israel project. I’m not so sure that that’s all of the actors, but somebody wants to create a new war in Armenia above and beyond the locals. So …
Could oil rich Muslim nations be flexing their cash and influence too?
Could Saudi Arabia be involved – as Azerbaijan is an important ‘frenemy’ in the Sunni/Israel conflict with Shia-Iran?
Could the Deep State be involved – both for war profits and to cover up some crime(s) we are not yet aware of?
None of this changes the Islam v. Christian conflict, but Armenia has Russia as an ally – sort of – so there would be no conflict here unless Azerbaijan thought Russia would stand down. Hopefully, Russia will step in and deescalate the conflict as they did in Kosovo.
God bless everyone here and protect Raymond and his family …
Jihad is relentless.
Church, politicians, media all are knock-need.
Yes …Azerbaijan attacks the innocent with impunity knowing that they are backed up by Erdogan’s Turkey . Erdogan uses Azerbaijan as his proxy as he is afraid to attack Hayastan/ Armenia or Artsakh directly in case he stirs up Russia’s ire .