 Situated between a steep mountain range, its wartime population of approximately 45,000–60,000 was primarily made up of ethnic Azeris and Kurds.Throughout the war, the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh had been voicing their discontent over seventy years of Azeri rule and said that they were defending themselves from Azerbaijan's aggression.Their capture of the towns of Khojaly and Shusha stemmed from security concerns in silencing artillery bombardments positioned in those towns.