Foreign fighters from Lebanon, Syria and Latin America fight for Armenia in Karabakh fighting - RFI report

Fighters from Lebanon, Syria and Latin America have volunteered to fight for Armenia against Azerbaijan in the ongoing conflict in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region, Radio France International (RFI) reported Saturday.

The RFI stated that around 30 volunteer fighters, some of whom had never held a weapon before, received "express training" before joining the attacks.

The volunteers who spoke on the condition of anonymity described their experiences in Nagorno-Karabakh.

"You have to knock them out, otherwise they're the ones who knock you out," one of them said.

"Since the start of the conflict, so many (volunteer fighters) have been registered that some are still waiting in Yerevan to be called in to support those who are fighting," the RFI wrote.

Azerbaijan's chief of press services, Col. Vagif Dargahli, said in a statement last Monday that the Armenian Army has enlisted mercenaries from Syria and other Middle Eastern countries.

Azerbaijani Ambassador to Turkey Khazar Ibrahim on Friday also confirmed claims suggesting that people from other countries joined the conflict on Yerevan's side. He said that terrorist groups are also battling among the ranks of Armenia. Ibrahim stated last Monday that Armenia brought terrorist groups, including the PKK and the so-called Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), to the Nagorno-Karabakh region and provided them with weapons.

Renewed border clashes broke out early Sunday when Armenian forces targeted Azerbaijani civilian settlements and military positions, leading to casualties.