Nagorno-Karabakh—an ethnic Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan as big as Rhode Island and as populous as Syracuse, NY—has been the site of fierce fighting in recent weeks. Analysts fear it could trigger a wider regional war involving Turkey, Russia, and Iran. Since fighting erupted on Sept. 27, hundreds of people, including dozens of civilians, have been killed, and Armenian officials have accused Turkey of sending fighters and weapons to assist Azerbaijan, the AP reports. Russia, meanwhile, has a defense pact with Armenia. The last time there was a full-scale conflict in the area was from 1992 to 1994, when a ceasefire was called after an estimated 30,000 deaths. More:
- The background. The region, where animosity between Armenians and Azerbaijanis runs very deep, is one of several "frozen conflict zones" in the former Soviet Union, the New York Times reports. It sits within Azerbaijan but declared independence in 1991, just before the Soviet Union collapsed, reports the AP. War broke out the following year; the eventual 1994 ceasefire left around 600,000 ethnic Azerbaijanis unable to return to their homes. Ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia have controlled the enclave since; Azerbaijan has vowed to recapture it.