On the night of July 15, tens of thousands spontaneously gathered in the center of Azerbaijan's capital Baku to commemorate General Polad Hashimov, who was killed on July 14. The demonstration takes place near the martyr's cemetery. The participants called for the liberation of the Azerbaijani areas occupied by the Armenian military. According to local observers, this is the largest demonstration by citizens in many years.

It should be noted that, according to official rules and regulations, gatherings of more than five people have been prohibited due to the Covid-19 epidemic. However, the police, who shows a strong presence at site, has not interfered so far.

The border clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan started on July 12th. Both countries provide conflicting reports on who is responsible for the outbreak of violence.

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region is a legacy of the collapse of the USSR. Under international law, the region belongs to Azerbaijan, but it was mostly inhabited by Armenians during the breakdown of the Soviet Union. In the course of a bloody war in the 1990s, ethnic Azerbaijanis were driven out of the region and the seven surrounding Azerbaijani territories. There has been a fragile ceasefire between the countries since 1994. The international community is represented in the so far unsuccessful conflict mediation through the Minsk Group of the OSCE, which received its mandate from the United Nations.