This camp, on a hillside above the Armenian capital Yerevan, is run by a veteran of the last war over Nagorno Karabakh, a disputed enclave in the 19 nineties.

Since war broke out again last month, more than 1000 people have been killed.

A gaseous a tree in was in Germany, embarking on a career as an I T specialist.

He immediately asked for a vacation, citing a family matter and flew back to his hometown.

Yerevan.

E decided straight away that I would be here and defending my country if it needs me.

My name s Kia.

Um my German employers wouldn't understand that a man would want to go to war.

Lessons include using hand grenades, repelling a gun attack though their guns a wooden replicas on rock climbing.

Since Nagorno Karabakh is mountainous, it's controlled by ethnic Armenians, and Armenia regards it as part of its historic homeland.

The population there needs its protection, it says, but it's internationally considered part of Azerbaijan, which considers the land to be illegally occupied.

Yeah, Russia is now nationally Studio Russia's National Me, Armenia.

I know our history really well, and I know that we, the Armenians, wouldn't have survived so many centuries without understanding that every man should fight for his homeland.

Only by defending our homeland with blood and sweat could we survived.

Through the centuries, the school used to attract 20 to 30 people at a time to train for any renewed war.

Now, instructors say, it's in the hundreds.

Armenia's Defense Ministry says about 10,000 people volunteered to take up arms on the first day of fighting.

Azerbaijan to has registered tens of thousands of volunteers, though its most recent numbers are classified.