War in Nagorno-Karabakh spills into the civilian population

On September 19th, 2023, Azerbaijan continued a long-standing conflict between Azeri armed forces and the autonomous region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The conflict started in 1988 with the fall of the Soviet Union and subsequently resulted in the restarting of its various ethnic conflicts. Artsakh, the self-proclaimed nation in Nagorno-Karabakh, is an Armenian-majority area inside of Azerbaijan. Because of this, the Azeri government has decided to genocide the people of Nagorno-Karabakh through forced deportations, shelling of civilian areas, and outright murder of civilians, actions that go directly against the laws of war outlined in the Geneva Conventions. 

On September 23rd, the region fell to Azeri forces. While this was happening, Russian peacekeepers attempting to evacuate civilians from conflict areas in the area of Lachin came under fire and shelling from Azeri forces, killing all in the convoy, including two deputy commanders of the peacekeeping operations as claimed by Sputnik Armenia and the Russian Ministry of Defense. The fall of the region has caused over 100,000 Armenians to flee to Armenia where it is safe, a situation reminiscent of the 1998-1999 Kosovo conflict. With streets and homes empty throughout Nagorno-Karabakh, it remains to be seen what will happen to these previously Armenian lands. If native Azeris begin moving in, it will continue to add to the case of genocide brought against Azerbaijan after Armenia invoked the Rome statute. The Rome statute outlined that every nation is to exercise criminal jurisdiction over nations violating human rights, including rape, murder, torture, sex slavery, apartheid, and deportations.

Media attention has been minimal aside from vocal outcry by Kim Kardashian who has called on the US government to intervene in the conflict to protect ethnic Armenians. Iran has supported Armenians with guns, tanks, drones, and other small munitions. Most crucially, Russia has been nearly silent on the conflict, refusing to aid their Armenian allies, owing to the fact that they are unable to spare manpower or munitions that could be put to use in their current war against Ukraine.

With Azerbaijan being the main supplier of natural gas to Europe after Russian sanctions, any involvement by Western nations may result in a shutoff of gas to Europe and an increased price of gas within the United States. So far, with the fall of Artsakh and a crackdown on the rights of those Armenians living there, it is to be seen what this will mean for the future of the Caucasus.