Baku

Azerbaijani security service said on Friday (September 29) that a top Nagorno-Karabakh commander had been detained. The commander was suspected of being involved in "terrorist" activities in the ethnic Armenian enclave, said Azerbaijan officials.

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The officials identified the detained man as Davit Manukyan. The security service added that Manukyan had risen to the rank of major general in the Armenian army. Later he became first deputy commander of the separatist force.

Azerbaijan carried out a 24-hour blitz last week that caused separatist Armenians' government to capitulate and agree to dissolution by the end of the year.

The Armenian separatists' defeat started a huge exodus of overwhelmingly Christian ethnic Armenians from Karabakh to Armenia. Media reports suggest that three-fourth of the population in the region has already reached Armenia. It is being considered that this exodus is going to change Nagorno-Karabakh's ethnic and religious makeup for generations.

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Azerbaijan invites UN mission

After number of international appeals including from the US and the European Union, Azerbaijan on Friday (Sept 29) agreed for a United Nations mission's visit to Nagorno-Karabakh 'in the coming days'.

Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of ethnic cleansing in Karabakh. Azerbaijan denies the allegations.

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"The visit will allow (the mission) to become acquainted with the current humanitarian activities being carried out by Azerbaijan in the region," said Azerbaijan's foreign ministry in a statement.

"In addition, the group members will be shown the process of rebuilding certain infrastructure, disarmament and confiscation of ammunition from illegal Armenian armed forces, as well as the dangers posed by mines," it said.

An Azerbaijani government official said earlier that media will also be allowed to visit the region.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev spoke with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier this week and insisted that the country's forces only targeted "military facilities...during the anti-terror measures, which lasted less than 24 hours, and civilians were not harmed"

(With inputs from agencies)

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