2016 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes
| Four Day War | |||||||||
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| Part of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict | |||||||||
Territory claimed by the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic but controlled by Azerbaijan
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) Armenia
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 Azerbaijan
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Bako Sahakyan (President of NKR) Levon Mnatsakanyan (Defense Minister of NKR) Serzh Sargsyan (President of Armenia, Commander-in-Chief) Seyran Ohanyan (Defense Minister of Armenia) Yuri Khatchaturov (Chief of the General Staff of Armenia)
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Ilham Aliyev (President of Azerbaijan, Commander-in-Chief) Zakir Hasanov (Defense Minister of Azerbaijan) Najmaddin Sadigov (Chief of the General Staff of Azerbaijan) Mais Barkhudarov(Frontline commander of Azerbaijani Army) |
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| Units involved | |||||||||
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Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army Armed Forces of Armenia |
Azerbaijani Armed Forces | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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Per Armenian sources:
Azerbaijani claim:
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Per Azerbaijani sources:
Armenian claim: |
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Per Armenian sources:
Azerbaijani claim:
Per Azerbaijani sources:
Armenian claim:
The Four Day War or April War, began along the Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact on April 1, 2016 with the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army, backed by the Armenian Armed Forces, on one side and the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on the other, in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, with Azerbaijani forces seeking to regain control of territory controlled by the Armenia-backed unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR). The clashes have been defined as "the worst" since the .
A ceasefire was reached on April 5, however, both sides accused each other of violations. Azerbaijan claimed to have regained 2,000 hectares of land, while Armenian officials suggested a loss of 800 hectares of land of no strategic importance.
The US State Department estimated that a total of 350 people—military and civilian—died. Official sources of the warring parties put those estimates either much higher or much lower, depending on the source.
The Nagorno-Karabakh War ended with a between the warring parties that came into effect on May 12, 1994. However, since then Azerbaijan and Armenia have reported over 7,000 breaches of the ceasefire; more than 100 breaches of the ceasefire and 12 Azerbaijani soldiers had been killed in 2015 alone. The April 2016 clashes have been the most serious breach of the 1994 ceasefire to date.
Among the possible reasons behind the conflict escalation, Azerbaijan's worsening economy (due to the collapse of oil prices in 2015–16) has been frequently cited, with clashes being used as a way to distract the Azerbaijani population from rising prices and unemployment. Alternatively, some Armenian sources blame Turkey for provoking violence, while some Turkish commentators have suggested a Russian strategy to destabilize the region.
Each side blamed the other for the outbreak of clashes around Aghdara, Tartar, Agdam, Khojavend, and Fuzuli. According to Armenian sources, on the night of 1 April and early morning of 2 April, the Azerbaijani side launched large-scale attacks along the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan. On 2 April, a 12-year-old Armenian boy was killed as a result of missile artillery attack from a BM-21 Grad near the border with Martuni. Two other children were wounded as well. According to Azerbaijani sources, on 2 April, Azerbaijani positions and inhabited places near the front line came under fire from Armenian military, armed with mortars and high caliber grenade launchers, that killed and wounded several civilians. According to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense, during a rapid counter-offensive, the Armenian side's front defense line was broken in multiple places and several strategic heights and inhabited places were retaken (including the strategically important hill of Lalatapa). An AFP journalist confirmed that the Lalatapa heights were also under Azerbaijani control. The Azerbaijani side claimed that they had captured some areas, including heights near the village of Talysh, as well as the village of Seysulan. However, the Ministry of Defence of Nagorno-Karabakh says this claim is untrue. On 8 May the Armenia's First Channel release footage from military positions near Seysulan. 14,400 people living in villages were affected by clashes, but no internal displacement or immediate humanitarian need was reported. Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan sharply accused Azerbaijan of "launching an unprovoked coordinated ground offensive against Armenia’s forces", saying the Azerbaijani military used warplanes, tanks and artillery to try to make inroads into Nagorno-Karabakh. During the first day of fighting, Armenian forces claimed to have destroyed at least three Azerbaijani tanks, two military helicopters (including an Mi-24G and at least one armed Mil Mi-8/17) and two unmanned drones, photographs and videos of which surfaced on the internet. Armenian frontline positions were reinforced, heavy artillery was brought forward, and in the NKR capital Stepanakert reservists were called up.
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