Armenia, Azerbaijan & Nagorno-Karabakh
ICG, 25 Mar 08: Azerbaijan: Independent Islam and the State
Quote:
Claims that major terrorist acts were foiled in Azerbaijan at the end of 2007 have prompted discussion about the extent to which Islamic extremism is a genuine threat in the oil-rich land. Azerbaijan is a secular state with an overwhelmingly moderate (predominantly Shiite) Muslim population. Since the break-up of the Soviet Union and independence in 1991, independent Sunni and Shiite groups have emerged which refuse the spiritual authority of the official clergy. Some are political, but very few, if any, appear intent on employing violence to overthrow the state. The government, however, expresses concern about these “independents”, and tries to control them, including through repression. Its strategy risks radicalising peaceful activists and believers.....
....The independent communities identified throughout this report do not appear to pose a genuine threat to the government or to a secular way of life. Almost no group in the country can be considered jihadist. The few groups that openly voice a desire to establish an Islamic state lack a significant following and a strategic vision of how to implement their goal. But exaggeration of the Islamic threat has been used to justify repression and control of religious life, which risks leading to politicisation and possible radicalisation of the many more who have suffered from police brutality even if they were originally apolitical and purely religious.....
Nagorno-Karabakh: ten summits later
From the introduction to an IISS Strategic Comment:
Quote:
Hopes have been dashed again that Armenia and Azerbaijan might make finally make a breakthrough in their long-standing conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The two countries' presidents left a meeting mediated by Russia's Dmitry Medvedev on 24 June in Kazan, without approving the basic principles for the conflict's resolution. With many recent ceasefire violations in Nagorno-Karabakh and a growing arms race between Armenia and Azerbaijan, this latest failure leaves open the threat of a new war in the region.
Link:http://www.iiss.org/publications/str...orno-karabakh/
Nagorno-Karabakh 2: Putin's Boogaloo?
Quote:
Footage recorded by Sputnik Armenia shows heavy armor moving in a column along the streets of Stepanakert, the capital and the largest city of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh republic, amid the recent escalation in the region.
The situation around Nagorno-Karabakh sharply deteriorated overnight, with
Azerbaijan and Armenia accused each other of starting the fighting.
Video here
https://www.rt.com/news/338136-heavy...orno-karabakh/
Quote:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for an end to fighting after clashes broke out in the disputed Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan said 12 of its soldiers had been killed and a helicopter shot down. TV pictures showed a burned out vehicle and craters after gunfire and shelling.
Nagorno-Karabakh has been in the hands of ethnic Armenian separatists since a war that ended in 1994.reports of gun and mortar fire coming from the border with Azerbaijan. Armenia and Azerbaijan accuse each other of provoking the escalation.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35949991
Nagorno-Karabakh's cocktail of conflict explodes again
A good backgrounder on this dispute and the cold, now hot war:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35954969
