Conflict coverage · South Caucasus

First Nagorno-Karabakh War

1992 – 1994Key eventEssentialKarabakh

MilitaryTerritorial changeHumanitarianArmenia–Azerbaijan / Karabakh legacy

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.

Why it mattersThe 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: HighSources: Established historical record · International Crisis Group ↗Methodology Corrections

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Related structure

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

Part of

Campaigns whose record places this event inside them.

Karabakh conflictThe first war and the 1994 ceasefire

Actors

Actor records this event names.

Former NK authorities

Participants

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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.