Azerbaijan Checks Citizens' SUVs, Justifies Saying 'War is About to Start'

On September 22, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that the road police have seized citizens' SUVs for scheduled technical inspections, as these vehicles are considered military transport according to the law. This information was reported by Razminfo.

The Minister of Internal Affairs referenced Azerbaijan's 2006 law on the 'Registration Rules for Military Transport', which states that military vehicles must be registered in advance, including all details of the vehicles and their owners. During a state of war and mobilization, citizens provide their vehicles to the armed forces in exchange for a certificate indicating that their vehicle has been confiscated by the state.

In fact, the Ministry confirmed reports from the previous day stating that citizens' SUVs were being seized. On the previous day, Habib Abdullayev, coordinator of the Azerbaijani opposition news outlet 'Meydan', wrote on his Facebook page that during the day, the road police confiscated several SUVs from citizens, justifying that 'war is about to start, these are necessary.'

Abdullayev also shared a photo showing the seized SUVs. Recent announcements from Azerbaijan and ongoing information-propaganda campaigns suggest that Baku is preparing the ground for a military adventure, supported directly by Turkey.

It is also noteworthy that since yesterday, the mobilization of reservists has begun in Azerbaijan for combat training and inspections. Officially, the authorities state that these are planned military trainings, emphasizing the need for the army to undergo combat readiness training. On September 19, Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov declared that the 'Armenian side is preparing new provocations aimed at escalating the situation on the frontline,' for which all units of the Azerbaijani army will undergo retraining. Hasanov also mentioned that training sessions should be held with reservists.