Global Information2020 Barda missile attacks information
| Barda missile attacks | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War | |
| Location | Barda, Əyricə, and Qarayusifli, Azerbaijan |
| Date |
|
Attack type | Missile attack |
| Weapons |
|
| Deaths | 27 |
| Injured | 85 |
| Perpetrators |
|
The Barda missile attacks (Azerbaijani: Bərdənin bombalanması) was a series of three air attacks on the city of Barda, as well as the villages of Əyricə and Qarayusifli in the same district, in Azerbaijan during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. The attacks involved BM-30 Smerch missiles with cluster warheads, and resulted in 27 civilian deaths.
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 a Red 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 of Əyricə, killing a 16-year-old boy.[4]
Azerbaijan accused Armenia of the attacks and stated that cluster munitions had been used against civilians. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty 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 unrecognized Republic of Artsakh admitted responsibility for the attacks but stated that it had targeted military facilities.
- ^ Civilians Under Fire in Nagorno-Karabakh: September-November 2020 (Report). Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. 7 December 2020. p. 2. Retrieved 9 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
- ^ "Azerbaijan says Armenia used cluster bombs in deadly Barda attack". aljazeera.com. Al Jazeera. 28 October 2020.
Wednesday's strike marked the deadliest reported attack on civilians in a month of fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh.
- ^ "Haut-Karabakh : l'Azerbaïdjan accuse l'Arménie d'avoir tué des civils dans une attaque de missiles". Le Monde (in French). 28 October 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
hrwbarda2was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Armenia/Azerbaijan: First confirmed use of cluster munitions by Armenia 'cruel and reckless'". Amnesty International. 29 October 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- ^ "Armenia: Cluster Munitions Kill Civilians in Azerbaijan". Human Rights Watch. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.