Baku’s use of phosphorus weapons and Armenia’s fires not studied

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia’s Ministry of Environment has stated that no causal link has been studied between wildfires near the country’s borders and Azerbaijan’s use of phosphorus weapons, Sputnik Armenia reports.

The ministry confirmed that during the 2020 military conflict, Azerbaijani forces used cluster munitions, which are internationally banned, as well as weapons containing white phosphorus or thermite-based substances.

According to the Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center SNCO, satellite imagery from "Sentinel-2A" was analyzed for the burned forest areas within Armenia’s borders during that period. The analysis identified burned areas in Syunik and Tavush provinces, with the total affected area amounting to 537 hectares. The data provided only an assessment of the burned areas, and no specific study was conducted to determine whether phosphorus weapons played a role in causing the fires, the ministry stated.

At the same time, the ministry noted that Azerbaijan’s actions had severe environmental consequences, ranging from large-scale forest fires to long-term pollution of air, soil, and water.

In December 2020, the DFRLab laboratory confirmed through satellite imagery that large sections of forests under Armenian control in Nagorno-Karabakh were set on fire. This occurred after Armenia released videos claiming that Azerbaijan had used phosphorus weapons.