First Karabakh War

The conflict began in 1988, when Armenians of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast demanded union with Armenia, and grew into full-scale war after the Soviet Union collapsed. Both sides fought mostly with weapons left behind by the Soviet Army: Kalashnikov rifles, PK machine guns, Dragunov rifles and RPGs. About 30,000 people were killed, and hundreds of thousands on both sides were driven from their homes.

Outcome: Ceasefire (Bishkek Protocol, May 1994). Armenian forces held Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts of Azerbaijan; UN Security Council resolutions of 1993 demanded their withdrawal, and the territory remained internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan.