1993 Summer Offensives

The 1993 Summer Offensives of the Nagorno-Karabakh War saw the capture of several Azerbaijani regions by Armenian military units in a series of battles from June to August 1993.

As bombardments against the Nagorno-Karabakh's indigenous civilian population emanating from Agdam intensified, on July 4, an artillery bombardment was commenced by Armenian forces against the region's capital of Agdam. As the civilians began to evacuate Agdam, so did the soldiers. As house to house fighting took place, the Azeris, conflicted by desertions, undisciplined troops, and low morale, made little effort to defend the town. Within the end of the month, Armenian forces had taken hold of Agdam and an estimated 120,000 civilians had left the Agdam region. On July 29, the second UNSC resolution, 853, was passed condemning the offensive and reaffirming the previous points it had made. Despite calls to halt their advances, the Armenian government said that they had no control over the enclave's military leaders in order to call off the offensive.

Facing a military collapse, Aliev attempted to mediate with the de facto Karabakh government and Minsk Group officials. A three day truce was agreed upon by both governments beginning on July 26. Within days, as a sight that had become all too familiar for both, the cease fire collapsed and both sides resumed their fighting. In mid-August, Armenians massed a force to take the Azeri regions of Fizuli and Jebrail, south of NKAO proper. Azerbaijan charged that Armenian forces had already begun bombarding the villages while the Armenians denied it, claiming that they were defending the southern border of the enclave from Azeri attacks. In either case, Armenian forces crossed south and advanced south towards the border of Iran towards Fizuli. Supported by heavy armor, they pushed their way through the region as Iran's government issued several warnings on the new offensive but also said it would recommit itself to new peace talks. The region was populated by 30-50,000 Azeris, forcing many of them to flee and seek refuge in Iran. By August 20, Fizuli, Jebrail, and Zangelan had fallen. In a span of several months, Azerbaijan had lost a staggering five regions adjacent to Karabakh.