{"id":48894,"date":"2020-10-28T12:26:42","date_gmt":"2020-10-28T12:26:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/?p=48894"},"modified":"2020-10-28T12:27:54","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T12:27:54","slug":"prominent-syrian-opposition-leader-killed-in-nagorno-karabakh-fighting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/48894\/","title":{"rendered":"Prominent Syrian opposition leader killed in Nagorno-Karabakh fighting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

AZAZ, Syria (North Press) –<\/strong> Recently, a prominent leader from the Turkish-backed Syrian opposition groups was killed in the fighting between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A source told North Press that the leader of the Hamza group, Adel Shahir, died along with several of his fighters in battles that took place a few days ago in Nagorno-Karabakh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nagorno-Karabakh, known as Artsakh, is a mountainous region officially recognized as part of Azerbaijan, though it has a predominately Armenian population and is a de facto independent country which calls itself the Republic of Artsakh. The current fighting is the fiercest since the 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and Artsakh\u2019s declaration of its autonomy from Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shahir was the commander in chief of the central forces in the Hamza group, and he was one of the first Syrian mercenaries to join the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Political analysts weigh in on the complicated relationship between Turkey, Syria, and war in Azerbaijan<\/a><\/blockquote>