This war may escalate into regional conflict amid international community's 'aloof posture' - opposition MP meets with Egyptian envoy  

An opposition MP from the Prosperous Armenia party (PAP) on Thursday briefed the Egyptian ambassador on the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) conflict zone, expressing concern over the international community's somewhat neutral attitude to the ongoing hostilities.

Naira Zohrabyan, who chairs the Armenia-Egypt Parliamentary Friendship Group, shared details of the meeting on Facebook, where she also posted a photo with Ambassador Bahaa Eldeen Bahgat Ibrahim.
 
"I briefed the ambassador, once again, on the humanitarian disaster of the war unleashed by the Azerbaijani-Turkish tandem, the direct participation of Turkey, a NATO member state, and international terrorist groups, in this disastrous war, as well as yesterday's statement by Turkey's vice president that Turkey is ready to send armed forces to Azerbaijan, thereby directly engaging in the war operations.  

"And that virtually means NATO troops are going to be deployed in Azerbaijan.

"I elaborated on all the international conventions, which the Azerbaijani-Turkish tandem blatantly breached, targeting both civilian settlements and the civilian population - children, women and the elderly - and using weapons banned under international conventions.

"I conveyed information also on Azerbaijan's brutalities against prisoners of war, facts which practically amount to a war crime perpetrated by the tandem.

"My concerns were clearly outlined: should the international community hold on to its somewhat uncertain posture of an observer, this war may escalate into a disastrous regional conflict," the lawmaker wrote.

Azerbaijan launched large-scale offensives along the Line of Contact on September 27, targeting also the civilians of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).

As of October 20, the Artsakh defense forces were reported to have shot down 16 war helicopters, 23 warplanes, 202 UAVs, 580 units of armored vehicles (mainly tanks), 86 transport vehicles, 10 armored personnel carriers and multiple rocket launchers (one unit of TOS-1A, two units of BM-30 Smerch and one unit of BM-27 Uragan).

The adversary has lost over 6,459 troops since the eruption of the hostilities. Armenia has officially reported 834 military casualties. 

Azerbaijan's armed forces targeted also civilian objects and military objectives on the territory of Armenia. Two civilians were fatally shot in the Gegharkunik region. As many as 115 civilians were wounded and some 36 were killed in Nagorno-Karabakh. Physical damage was caused to over 6,700 units of property and infrastructures, 640 vehicles and an estimated 1,110 public and manufacturing facilities.  

The Azerbaijani strikes left also journalists (representing both the local and international media) wounded.

Armenia and Artsakh declared martial law and a general mobilization on September  27.

Despite the humanitarian ceasefire agreed formally twice, Azerbaijan's armed forces continued the subversive attacks  in the past days, shelling also civilians settlements on Nagorno-Karabakh's territory.