The first attack took place on 27 October, killing 5 civilians and wounding 13 more. The next day, on 28 October, several missiles struck Barda, killing 21 civilians, including aRed Crescent volunteer, and wounding 60 more. It was the deadliest attack on civilians and the worst civilian death toll during the war.[1][2][3] On 7 November, the Armenian forces fired a rocket on the village ofƏyricə, killing a 16-year-old boy.[4]
Azerbaijan accused Armenia of the attacks and stated thatcluster munitions had been used against civilians.Human Rights Watch andAmnesty International verified the use of cluster munition by Armenia, adding that the "firing of cluster munitions into civilian areas is cruel and reckless, and causes untold death, injury and misery."[5][6] Armenia denied any responsibility, while the unrecognizedRepublic of Artsakh admitted responsibility for the attacks but stated that it had targeted military facilities.
Trilateral talks on the conflict between the foreign ministers of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan commenced on 9 October 2020 inMoscow.[10]Sergey Lavrov,Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, andJeyhun Bayramov participated in the talks.[11] Lavrov issued a joint statement following ten hours of talks that ended at 03:00 local time,[12] confirming that a humanitarian ceasefire would come into force at midday.[13][14]Minutes after the truce was due to commence, the two parties blamed each other for violating the ceasefire.[15]
On 26 October, the United States announced that both sides had agreed to a humanitarian ceasefire from the morning of 26 October,[19] but it was violated minutes after taking into force, with both sides accusing each other of breaking it.[20]
The second attack on 28 October occurred at around 13:00 local time. It involvedcluster missiles that hit densely populated urban areas with trade facilities, whichAmnesty International andHuman Rights Watch confirmed.[6][5][23] As a result, 21 civilians were killed and over 70 were wounded.[24] Among the dead, was a 39-year-oldRed Crescent volunteer, while two other volunteers were injured.[25] Civil infrastructure facilities and vehicles were extensively damaged,[26] including, according to Human Rights Watch, Barda Treatment and Diagnostic Center, State Migration Service office.[4] According to Azerbaijan, the second attack also involved a BM-30 Smerch[27] with a clusterwarhead equipped withfragmentation warheads of 72–144 pieces in total.[28] Azerbaijan accused Armenia for the attacks,[29] which it denied any responsibility,[30] whileAmnesty International andHuman Rights Watch also stated that it was Armenia who had carried out the attack.[5][6] In the meanwhile, the unrecognizedRepublic of Artsakh admitted responsibility for the second attack, but stated that it had targeted military facilities.[31]New York Times reporting team was caught in an Armenian rocket attack driving along the main street of Barda.[32]
The third attack on 7 November occurred in the village ofƏyricə. According to aHuman Rights Watch report, the Armenian forces fired a rocket that struck an agricultural field near the village and killed a 16-year-old boy while he playing with other children. Azerbaijani authorities stated that they had identified the munition as a 9M528 Smerch rocket, which carries a warhead that produces blast and fragmentation effect. HRW reported that the researchers did not observe any military objectives in the area.[4]
Soon after the attacks, theAzerbaijani Ministry of Defence releaseddrone footage, claiming to have retaliated for the attacks,[33][34] especially targeting the Armenian manpower, rather than the equipment as previously displayed.[35][36][37]
The firing position of the BM-30 Smerch launcher involved in the attacks was identified by Azerbaijani army and on 29 October it was destroyed.[38] On 30 October, Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced the destruction of two more Smerch launchers that had targeted Barda andTartar.[39]
Marie Struthers,Amnesty International's Regional Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia stated that the "firing of cluster munitions into civilian areas is cruel and reckless, and causes untold death, injury and misery".[5] Similarly,Human Rights Watch released a report about the attack, confirming the use of cluster munitions and called Armenia to stop using banned weapons.[6]
^Civilians Under Fire in Nagorno-Karabakh: September-November 2020 (Report). Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. 7 December 2020. p. 2. Retrieved9 January 2021.ACLED records the highest number of civilian fatalities caused by a single attack during the six-week war in Barda city, where 21 civilians were killed and at least 70 others were wounded by the shelling
