2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
Part of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh including Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh   Territory claimed by the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh but controlled by Azerbaijan
Date 1 – 5 April 2016 (4 days) Location Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact Result Inconclusive (see aftermath) Azerbaijan claims victory[1][2] Armenia claims to have successfully repelled the Azerbaijani offensive[3][4] Territorial changes The line of contact shifted for the first time since 1994[5] Azerbaijan captures a territory from 800 hectares (8.0 km2) to 2,000 hectares (20 km2), including 2 heights
Belligerents
Artsakh  Armenia	Azerbaijan
Commanders and leaders
Bako Sahakyan Levon Mnatsakanyan Serzh Sargsyan Seyran Ohanyan Yuri Khatchaturov	Ilham Aliyev Zakir Hasanov Najmeddin Sadikov Hikmat Hasanov Polad Hashimov
Units involved
Nagorno-Karabakh Defence Army Armed Forces of Armenia[6]	Azerbaijani Armed Forces
Casualties and losses
Per Armenian sources: 91 troops killed[7] (11 non-combat),[8] 123 wounded[9] 9 civilians killed, 6 wounded[10] 14 tanks destroyed[11] Azerbaijani claim:[12][13] 560 soldiers killed, 500 wounded 33 tanks and armoured vehicles, 25 artillery pieces destroyed	Per Azerbaijani sources: 31–94 soldiers killed, 2 missing, 39 wounded [11][14] 6 civilians killed, 26 wounded[15] 1 Mi-24 helicopter and 1 drone lost[11][16] 1 tank destroyed[17] Armenian claim:[11][18] 300–1,500 soldiers killed, 2,000–2,700 wounded 2 helicopters, 14 drones shot down 26 tanks, 4 IFVs, 1 AEV, 1 MRL destroyed

The 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, also known as the Four-Day War,^[a] April War,^{[24][25][26][b]} or April clashes,^[c] began along the former Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact on 1 April 2016 with the Artsakh Defence Army, backed by the Armenian Armed Forces, on one side and the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on the other.

The clashes occurred in a region that is disputed between the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Azerbaijan. The region includes the former Soviet Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast and the surrounding districts of Azerbaijan under the control of Armenian forces at the time. Azerbaijan claimed to have started a military operation to prevent purported continuous Armenian shelling of civilian areas in Azerbaijan.^[29] However, there was no evidence of Armenian shelling. Until the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, the clashes were the worst since the 1994 ceasefire agreement signed by Artsakh, Azerbaijan and Armenia.^[30][31]

A ceasefire was reached on 5 April between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Moscow. The Nagorno-Karabakh authorities also welcomed the oral agreement.^[32][33] After the agreement, both sides accused each other of violations. Azerbaijan claimed to have regained 20 km² (7.7 sq mi) of land,^[34] while Armenian officials suggested a loss of 8 km² (3.1 sq mi) of land of no strategic importance.^[35][36] However, the International Crisis Group reported that those heights were of strategic importance.^[37]

Officially, Baku reported the loss of 31 servicemen without publishing their names. Armenian sources claimed much higher numbers varying between 300 and 500.^[38] The Ministry of Defence of Armenia reported the names of 92 military and civilian casualties, in total.^[39] The US State Department estimated that a total of 350 people, both military and civilian, had died.^[40] Official sources of the warring parties put those estimates either much higher or much lower, depending on the source.

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