© Azerbaijani Defence Ministry (AFP)
Armenia on September 29 said a Turkish F-16 shot down one of its warplanes, a claim immediately denied by Ankara as "absolutely untrue."
Yerevan's claim came as fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh continued for a third day in a major flare-up of the decades-old conflict over the territory amid international calls for an end to the deadly hostilities.
The UN Security Council is expected to hold emergency talks later on September 29 to discuss the fighting, which has threatened to draw in regional powers Russia and Turkey, which is a close ally of Azerbaijan.
An Armenian Defense Ministry spokeswoman wrote on Facebook that the Sukhoi Su-25 warplane had been on a military assignment in Armenian airspace when it was downed by an F-16 fighter jet owned by the Turkish air force.
Shushan Stepanyan added that the "Armenian pilot has heroically died."
Fahrettin Altun, a spokesman for Turkey's presidency, denied the accusation, saying, "The claim that Turkey shot down an Armenian fighter jet is absolutely untrue."
"Armenia should withdraw from the territories under its occupation instead of resorting to cheap propaganda tricks," Altun said.
Comment: Cavusoglu offered diplomatic
and military support to Azerbaijain. Before the alleged jet incident, Armenia
warned that it would deploy its Iskander ballistic missiles if Turkey used F-16s in the region. Azerbaijan
denied having Turkish F-16s in their arsenal.
Turkey and Azerbaijan still deny the transfer of jihadists into the battle, but that's getting more difficult to deny as more mainstream outlets
report on it, like the
Guardian, citing interviews with the militants themselves:
Two brothers from Azaz said they had been summoned to a camp in Afrin on September 13 and told by a commander in the Sultan Murad Division that three- or six-month contracts were available "guarding observation posts and oil and gas facilities" in Azerbaijan for 7,000-10,000 Turkish lira a month.
That works out to roughly $900-$1,300 a month, and is a princely sum compared to the monthly wage of 450-550 Turkish lira a month ($57-$70) that Ankara pays the militants to fight against the government of President Bashar Assad.
"Our leader told us that we won't be fighting, just assisting in guarding some areas," said one of the men, whom the newspaper named as Muhammad. "Our salaries aren't enough for living, so we see it a great opportunity to make money."
"There are no jobs available," added his brother, Mahmoud. "I used to work as a tailor in Aleppo but since we were displaced to Azaz, I've tried many times to practice my craft but my family and I can't earn enough."
It was implied that the militants would be taking the job, though they could not say what exactly it entailed, for how long, when they were expected to leave - or even the name of the Turkish security company officially hiring them.
Another militant, who also asked for his name to be changed, said he and 150 other men were summoned to Afrin on September 22, but then told their departure had been delayed. He had promised $200 from the first paycheck to a local broker to sign him up for the job.
"When we first started being offered work abroad in Libya, people were afraid to go there, but now there are definitely thousands of us who are willing to go to either Libya or Azerbaijan," he told The Guardian.
Armenia says Azeri drone strikes hit a
civilian bus (no casualties), and promises a "harsh response". Azerbaijain
claims 10 Azeri civilians have been killed.
See also:
Comment: See also: