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Azerbaijan
Special Operations
and Counterterrorist Forces
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General Information on
Armed Forces (1994)
Armed Forces: Military affairs overseen
by Defense Council reporting to president, not by
Ministry of Defense. Armed forces consist of army,
air force, air defense forces, navy, and National
Guard. In 1994 total of about 56,000 troops (about
half of which conscripts), 49,000 of which allocated
to ground forces, 3,000 to navy, and 2,000 each to
air force and air defense forces. Paramilitary groups
extensively used in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in early
1990s, and volunteers widely sought abroad. All Russian
forces withdrawn by 1993. Forced recruitment reported
in 1993; discipline poor.
Military Budget: Estimated expenditure
in 1992 about 10.5 percent (about US$125 million)
of state budget.
Internal Security: Border Guards,
established in 1992, limited; some Russian troops
included. In 1993 major reform of Ministry of Internal
Affairs, which controls 20,000 militia troops used
as regular police. Customs service unable to prevent
smuggling, especially of narcotics.
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