All events · Borders by Force Again

Second Nagorno-Karabakh War

2020 · Balkans, Anatolia & the Caucasus

Displacement Territory Seized

Displaced

90,000

roughly 90,000-100,000 ethnic Armenians displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh during and after the fighting

Share of the population affected

62%

of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh (the self-declared Republic of Artsakh) before the war, 2015

Killed

7,000–7,600

conflict deaths incl. combatants

Territory

9,000 km²

Azerbaijan recaptured most of the seven districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh and part of Nagorno-Karabakh itself, including the town of Shusha/Shushi

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What happened

In September-November 2020, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale offensive to reclaim territory lost in the 1990s, using Turkish drones and, according to multiple observers, Syrian mercenaries. The 44-day war ended with a Russian-brokered ceasefire on 10 November 2020 under which Azerbaijan regained most of the seven surrounding districts and part of Nagorno-Karabakh itself, and Russian peacekeepers were deployed to the remaining Armenian-held core. Roughly 90,000-100,000 ethnic Armenians were displaced, some temporarily and some permanently, and both sides faced documented allegations of abuses, including videos of mistreatment of prisoners of war.

Parties

Azerbaijan, using Turkish-made drones and reportedly Syrian mercenaries, launched a 44-day offensive against Armenian/Karabakh Armenian forces; Russia brokered a ceasefire and deployed peacekeepers

Disputed

Armenia and international monitors criticized Azerbaijan's and Armenia's respective use of cluster munitions and mistreatment of POWs; Azerbaijan frames the war as the liberation of its internationally recognized territory, while Armenia and Karabakh Armenians describe territorial losses and continued insecurity for the remaining Armenian population.

The denominator

The Artsakh census of 2015 counted about 145,000 people, 99.7% of them Armenian. The territory's population was reported at roughly 120,000 by 2021 and was almost entirely emptied after Azerbaijan's September 2023 offensive.

The 90,000 counts people displaced during the 44-day war, most of whom returned within months; the near-total depopulation of Karabakh came with the 2023 offensive, a separate event.

Where the baseline comes from

Republic of Artsakhopen-edited
Expulsion of Nagorno-Karabakh Armeniansopen-edited

On the death toll

Armenia's defence ministry ultimately acknowledged 3,825 servicemen killed and 187 missing and Azerbaijan 2,906 killed, with roughly 185 civilians killed on the two sides combined; the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights separately documented at least 541 Syrian fighters recruited by Turkey killed, which Azerbaijan and Turkey deny were present at all, accounting for most of the gap between the low and high ends.

Documented forms of violence

Summary ExecutionTortureCultural Destruction

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International documented and authenticated video evidence of the execution, beheading and torture of captured Armenian soldiers and civilians by Azerbaijani forces (and Amnesty found war crimes by both sides), while Caucasus Heritage Watch has documented satellite evidence of the destruction of Armenian churches and cemeteries in territory transferred to Azerbaijan.

Formal findings

ICJ (2021) — Armenia v. Azerbaijan (CERD) — provisional measures orders of 7 December 2021, 22 February 2023 (unimpeded movement along the Lachin corridor) and 17 November 2023; Azerbaijan brought a parallel case against Armenia and rejects Armenia's characterisation of events — source