Azerbaijan Reports Attack on its Troops in Nagorno-Karabakh

Civilian Azerbaijani soldiers recruited for duty at a military training and deployment center near the city of Ganja, Azerbaijan Oct. 23, 2020. (Reuters)
Civilian Azerbaijani soldiers recruited for duty at a military training and deployment center near the city of Ganja, Azerbaijan Oct. 23, 2020. (Reuters)
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Azerbaijan Reports Attack on its Troops in Nagorno-Karabakh

Civilian Azerbaijani soldiers recruited for duty at a military training and deployment center near the city of Ganja, Azerbaijan Oct. 23, 2020. (Reuters)
Civilian Azerbaijani soldiers recruited for duty at a military training and deployment center near the city of Ganja, Azerbaijan Oct. 23, 2020. (Reuters)

Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said Monday its army units have been attacked by “an illegal Armenian armed group” in Nagorno-Karabakh, killing one Azerbaijani serviceman and wounding another.

The ministry said the attack took place in the south of Nagorno-Karabakh on Sunday afternoon and was thwarted, leaving all six attackers dead.

The Nagorno-Karabakh military dismissed the statement as “misinformation” and a “propaganda provocation,” saying that the territory's army was “strictly observing” the ceasefire. Earlier on Monday the Armenian Defense Ministry also denied media reports of fighting in the south of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left Nagorno-Karabakh itself and substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands.

Heavy fighting erupted in late September in the biggest escalation of the decades-old conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, killing more than 5,600 people on both sides. A Russian-brokered peace deal that saw Azerbaijan reclaim much of the separatist region along with surrounding areas ended six weeks of fierce fighting on Nov. 10.

On Dec. 12, Armenia and Azerbaijan reported new clashes in the south of Nagorno-Karabakh, accusing each other of breaching the ceasefire. Russian peacekeepers deployed to monitor the peace deal also reported a violation at the time, but didn't assign blame.



Switzerland to Enact Hamas Ban from May 15

FILED - 08 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Fighters of the Ezz al-Din Al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas form a corridor as Israeli hostages get delivered to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
FILED - 08 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Fighters of the Ezz al-Din Al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas form a corridor as Israeli hostages get delivered to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
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Switzerland to Enact Hamas Ban from May 15

FILED - 08 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Fighters of the Ezz al-Din Al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas form a corridor as Israeli hostages get delivered to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
FILED - 08 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Fighters of the Ezz al-Din Al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas form a corridor as Israeli hostages get delivered to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa

A new Swiss law banning Hamas and related organizations will come into force on May 15, the government said on Wednesday, aiming to prevent the Palestinian militant group from using Switzerland as a safe haven by making entry bans or expulsions easier to arrange.
The law, which was approved by parliament last December and came in the wake of Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, gives Swiss authorities "the necessary tools to take action against Hamas activities or support for the organization in Switzerland," the government said, according to Reuters.
The Gaza war started after Hamas' attack which killed 1,200 people and resulted in 251 hostages being taken to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel's offensive on the enclave has killed more than 52,000, according to local Palestinian health officials.
The Swiss law enables preventive police measures such as entry bans or expulsions, and also makes it more difficult for Hamas to use Switzerland as a financial hub for its activities.