Azerbaijan seizes arms from Nagorno-Karabakh separatists

An Azerbaijani soldier stands guard at a military base in Shusha district, outside the regional capital, Stepanakert. [Emmanuel Dunand/AFP]

Azerbaijani forces tightened their grip on the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh as international concern mounted over the plight of tens of thousands of ethnic Armenian civilians trapped there.

As the first Red Cross aid convoy crossed into the disputed enclave since Azerbaijan launched a lightning offensive last week, Baku’s forces said rebel “demilitarisation” had begun.

Ethnic Armenian separatist fighters have started surrendering weapons under a Russian-mediated agreement.

On Saturday, the Azerbaijani troops were keen to show off a captured rebel arsenal. They displayed sniper rifles, hundreds of assault weapons, rocket-propelled grenades, and four tanks.

“We have more like that in the forest, but we can’t bring them all here,” said Lieutenant-General Mais Barkhudarov, commander of Azerbaijan’s 2nd Army Corps.

From the Shusha district, outside the regional capital Stepanakert, Azerbaijani Colonel Anar Eyvazov said his soldiers were working closely with Russian peacekeepers to conduct the demilitarisation process.

Azerbaijan now controls the Lachin Corridor to the southwest, which once connected the breakaway region to Armenia. Baku has mounted a de facto blockade there for the past nine months.

Hundreds of assault weapons seized from ethnic Armenian fighters in Nagorno-Karabakh displayed for the press at an Azerbaijani forces' base in Shusha district. [Emmanuel Dunand/AFP]

Heavy weapons seized from Nagorno-Karabakh fighters on display for the media. [Emmanuel Dunand/AFP]

A car drives past a tank seized from Nagorno-Karabakh forces. [Emmanuel Dunand/AFP]

Ethnic Armenian separatist fighters began to surrender weapons under a Russian-mediated agreement. [Emmanuel Dunand/AFP]

The Armenians of Karabakh, a territory internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but beyond Baku's control since the breakup of the Soviet Union, were forced to declare a ceasefire on September 20 after a 24-hour military operation by the Azerbaijani military. [Emmanuel Dunand/AFP]

An Azerbaijani soldier stands at a checkpoint at an Azerbaijani forces' position in Shusha. [Emmanuel Dunand/AFP]

A base operated by Russian peacekeepers, with a Russian flag fluttering in the wind in Shusha. [Emmanuel Dunand/AFP]

A humanitarian convoy of the International Committee of the Red Cross crossed into the area, the first since fighting erupted last week. [Alain Jocard/AFP]