Syrian militant says Armenians ‘butchering’ colleagues in Nagorno-Karabakh – Ahval

The state-run Armenian Unified Infocenter released footage on Sunday showing Syrian militants fighting in the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. 

“Armenian dogs… They butchered our boys,” one of the Syrian fighters said in the video clip published on Twitter.

“It is a terrible war,” he said.

Turkey has thrown its firm support behind Azerbaijan in the conflict, reportedly supplying hundreds of militants from Syria to its close regional ally. It says it is ready to do whatever is necessary to eject Armenian forces from the enclave, which is run by ethnic Armenians but located within Azerbaijan’s borders. 

Turkey and Azerbaijan have denied allegations by France, Russia and Armenia that Ankara is sending Syrian mercenaries to fight alongside Azeri forces in the recently reignited war. Armenia and Azerbaijan’s foreign ministers agreed to a ceasefire in meetings with the Russian government last week.

Armenia says that Turkey has sent around 4,000 Syrian mercenaries to Azerbaijan. International media including the Guardian have reported that the recruitment began weeks before the clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh reignited late last month.