Artsakh MFA has issued a statement condemning the use of phosphorus munitions by Azerbaijan.

The statemnet runs as follows:

We condemn in the strictest and strongest terms the continued use by Azerbaijan of methods and means of warfare prohibited by international law during the armed aggression unleashed against the Republic of Artsakh on September 27, 2020.

In particular, the Azerbaijani armed forces, in addition to cluster shells, also began to use phosphorus-containing incendiary ammunition in wooded areas near the settlements of the Republic of Artsakh, where part of the civilians from nearby villages temporarily hide from the actions of Azerbaijani sabotage groups.

Contrary to its statements that the purpose of the Azerbaijani armed forces is supposedly only military facilities, official Baku in fact resorts to terror tactics against the civilian population of Artsakh. First of all, in this context, it is necessary to consider the consistent refusal of the Azerbaijani side to comply with the humanitarian truce, since the continuation of hostilities allows the Baku authorities to further terrorize the civilian population of Artsakh. It is for these purposes that the Azerbaijani side resorts to the use of prohibited types of weapons, deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian objects, including medical institutions, setting itself the main task - the extermination and forcible deportation of the entire population of Artsakh.

In these conditions, as an effective measure to suppress massive violations of the collective and individual rights of an entire people and to protect it from physical destruction, the international community has formed the practice of recognizing the rights of these peoples to secession in the name of salvation and to enter international relations as an independent state.

The people of Artsakh 30 years ago chose the path of independence as a means of protection against the purposeful policy of Azerbaijan to exterminate the Armenian population. We are convinced that in the context of the continuing attempts of the Baku authorities to complete their criminal plan, international recognition of the de facto independence of the Republic of Artsakh is an urgent and timely measure of the world community to fulfill the generally accepted obligations to suppress crimes against humanity.