"Euronews Serbia" published an article about the fire that occurred in an ammunition depot near Nizami village, Goranboy district, Azerbaijan, and the information spread around the incident.
Modern.az reports, citing APA, that in the article titled "Why does Baku claim that a hybrid information attack is being carried out against Azerbaijan regarding the fire in the ammunition depot?", along with the statements of Azerbaijani state bodies regarding the incident, claims made by "Nexta", a Belarusian opposition media platform located in Poland, were also included.
The article notes that on the night of September 1-2, a fire accompanied by explosions occurred in an ammunition depot located near Nizami village, Goranboy district. As a result of the incident, there were no deaths or injuries, and no damage was caused to surrounding objects.
"Euronews Serbia" writes, citing the joint statement of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan, that employees of relevant agencies were immediately involved in the scene, and the situation was brought under control. For safety purposes, approximately 5,000 residents from Nizami and Khoylu villages were evacuated and allowed to return to their homes that evening.
The article specifically emphasizes that Azerbaijani agencies have not disclosed any information about the cause of the fire as the investigation is ongoing.
It was stated that, nevertheless, the "Nexta" channel published material presenting the incident as a possible provocation before its cause was determined.
"Despite the absence of official reports from the scene, Nexta, a Belarusian opposition media platform based in Poland, published material on the 'X' social network suggesting that the incident could be a provocation," writes "Euronews Serbia".
One of the main points highlighted in the article is that "Nexta" did not provide any source or evidence to confirm this possibility. It is stated that the channel, in its material published under the title "Provocation in Azerbaijan?", linked the fire in the ammunition depot to the current situation in Baku-Moscow relations.
"Nexta, without providing any evidence, without referring to any official or unofficial source, linked the incident at the ammunition depot to relations between Baku and Moscow, stating that these relations 'have been tense for a long time'," the article notes.
"Euronews Serbia" writes that "Nexta" also recalled in this context that the Azerbaijani prosecutor's office declared an international search for three Russian citizens. The channel also claimed, without citing any official statement, that Russia has "suspected for years" that Azerbaijan secretly supplied weapons to Ukraine.
The article also draws attention to the contradiction in "Nexta"'s approach. Although the channel itself admitted that the cause of the fire had not been determined, it immediately thereafter linked the incident to Azerbaijan-Russia relations.
"Moreover, although the material of the Nexta channel admitted that the cause of the incident had not been determined, the incident was immediately thereafter linked to Azerbaijan-Russia relations," emphasizes "Euronews Serbia".
The article also extensively presents the position of the Media Development Agency of Azerbaijan (MEDIA) on the issue. It was noted that the Agency assessed the information disseminated by "Nexta" as an approach based on subjective assumptions, not on solid evidence.
MEDIA stated that presenting the fire incident in the context of interstate political relations and attempting to manipulate public opinion based on this is part of a hybrid information campaign carried out against Azerbaijan.
"Analyses show that the incident is part of a hybrid information campaign coordinated from a single center. Western media, which constantly accuses actors outside its information environment of waging hybrid warfare, itself carries out an organized disinformation campaign against Azerbaijan," MEDIA's position was presented in the "Euronews Serbia" material.
The article reflects the Agency's position that similar approaches regarding Azerbaijan have recently been observed in a number of Western media outlets. MEDIA stated that such information is part of an information attack against Azerbaijan's international reputation.
According to the Agency's position, "the dissemination of such assumptions and accusations should be regarded as a clear manifestation of information manipulation."
