AZERBAIJAN Video shows one of many brutal acts that took place during the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. According to available information, the footage shows Azerbaijani soldiers cutting off the ears of a fallen Armenian soldier. Mutilating the bodies of the dead is considered a serious violation of international humanitarian law. The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols require the dead to be treated with dignity and prohibit the desecration of human remains, meaning such conduct may constitute a war crime.
The roots of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan date back to the late 1980s, when the Soviet Union began to collapse. At the center of the dispute was Nagorno-Karabakh – an internationally recognized part of Azerbaijan that was inhabited primarily by ethnic Armenians. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, ethnic and political tensions escalated into open war, during which Armenian forces took control of Nagorno-Karabakh and several surrounding territories.
Large-scale fighting broke out again in 2020. During the 44-day war, Azerbaijan, using modern weapons and unmanned aerial systems, regained a significant portion of the territory it had previously lost. The conflict claimed thousands of lives on both sides, and numerous reports emerged of possible war crimes, including the mistreatment of prisoners of war and the desecration of the bodies of fallen soldiers.
In September 2023, Azerbaijan launched another short military operation, after which Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh surrendered. The region subsequently came fully under Azerbaijani control, and most of its Armenian population fled the area. Although active fighting has ended, relations between the two countries remain tense, and issues related to alleged war crimes and accountability for violations of international law continue to attract international attention.
