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More than a hundred people are said to have been killed and hundreds injured in the fighting in the Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh; now, one of the parties to the conflict has agreed to start negotiations on a ceasefire.
From Azerbaijan, which has been fighting Armenia for six days, there was initially no reaction to the advance. Both countries had declared martial law in the conflict.
Nagorno-Karabakh is predominantly inhabited by Armenians. Armenia is allied with Russia and has the support of France in the conflict, while Azerbaijan has aid commitments from Turkey. Turkey rejects OSCE mediation.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been fighting for Nagorno-Karabakh since the collapse of the Soviet Union. In total there are about 150,000 people. The South Caucasus region separated from Azerbaijan in 1991, but no state recognizes it as independent.
Last Sunday, the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh turned into violence. The Russian news agency Interfax has reported that the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Ministry has announced the death of another 54 soldiers. This increased the number of soldiers killed to 158.
Azerbaijan’s army spoke on Friday of heavy artillery fire in some villages on its territory. Civilians are said to have been killed and injured. Armenian authorities had previously spoken of 120 dead, most of them soldiers. Azerbaijan recently reported 19 civilians killed and 55 injured.
