First Nagorno-Karabakh War — Key Events — Caucasus

What happened

Full-scale war between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the former NKAO: Armenian forces take Shusha (Shushi) and open the Lachin corridor in May 1992, then in 1993 seize seven Azerbaijani districts around the enclave — condemned in four UN Security Council resolutions — while roughly 700,000 Azerbaijanis are displaced, alongside hundreds of thousands displaced between the two republics.

The war created the de facto Armenian-held Karabakh that lasted until 2020–23, the displacement that defined Azerbaijani politics for a generation, and the "buffer district" logic that made every later negotiation a bargain over occupied territory.

Confidence: High

When1992 – 1994

WhereKarabakh

KindMilitary · Territorial change · Humanitarian

ArenaArmenia–Azerbaijan / Karabakh legacy

Confidence: High Sources: Established historical record · International Crisis Group ↗ Methodology Corrections

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Connected records

3 records that this event names, or that name it — every one an explicit reference in a published record, nothing inferred from subject matter.

Part of1

Campaigns whose record places this event inside them.

Karabakh conflictThe first war and the 1994 ceasefire

Actors1

Actor records this event names.

Former NK authorities

Participants1

Organisations this event records, with the role and confidence it states.

Karabakh Armenian forces · atlasParticipanthigh confidence

Where this fits

This is one entry in the Caucasus timeline. The full Key Events surface carries every dated turning point with its filters and its essential subset, and this event in place shows what came before and after it. How Vigil grades, dates and sources its claims is set out in the methodology.