At least 400 Azerbaijani fatalities registered since April 2: Bellingcat

PanARMENIAN.Net - Bellingcat, a platform by and for citizen investigative journalists, published an analysis of the recent clashes between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan.

Starting the article with detailed information about the four-day battles, the article then goes on to remind that the Armenians have inhabited the Karabakh plains since ancient times.

“While the battle plans of both countries were sophisticated and well executed, the loss of personnel was greater than anticipated, especially on the Azerbaijani side,” the article says. “The ratio of Azerbaijani human and material loss versus territorial gain was high, especially in the light Azerbaijan only partially achieving in its goal of taking strategic posts. The defender usually suffers one-third of the casualties of the attacker, and we know that Karabakh’s superior defense tactics ensured heavy losses among Azerbaijan’s Special Forces.”

Using estimates from various sources, Bellingcat concludes that there were at least 400 Azerbaijani fatalities, which means that the fatality rates publicly cited by Azerbaijan are also underestimated.

“A conservative estimate by Bellingcat suggests a range of between 400 and 500 casualties on the Azerbaijani side,” the blog says.

The parties to the Karabakh conflict agreed on a bilateral cessation of fire along the contact line which came into force at midday, April 5.

Prior to that, on the night of April 1-2, Azerbaijani armed forces initiated overt offensive operations in the southern, southeastern and northeastern directions of the line of contact with Nagorno Karabakh.

The Armenian side has suffered 75 fatalities, 122 more were wounded.

As of April 5, the Azerbaijani side has lost 26 tanks and 4 infantry fighting vehicles, as well as 1 BM-21 Grad multipl e rocket launcher, 1 engineering vehicle, 2 military helicopters and 14 unmanned aerial vehicles. The Azerbaijani side has admitted the loss of 31 fighters, 1 helicopter and 1 unmanned drone, whereas the Armenian side's photo and video materials show dozens of killed Azerbaijani troops, 1 helicopter and 3 UAVs. Opposition media outlets, however, reported on the death of 95 Azerbaijani soldiers, stating that 39 more have been wounded. According to Karabakh authorities, 300 Azerbaijani soldiers were killed in clashes.

14 Karabakh tanks have been neutralized since April 2.