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A destroyed house in Stepanakert in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Photo: Uncredited / AP / dpa
Source: dpa-infocom GmbH
Just a week ago a ceasefire was negotiated for the conflict region. But there were always fights. Now there is a new attempt and reports of new violations.
meriwan / Baku (dpa) – In the bloody conflict in the South Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan have made another ceasefire attempt. It went into effect Sunday night, but was left fragile a few hours later.
Both sides accused each other of violating the ceasefire. Armenia spoke of the victims on both sides following the new attacks from the Azerbaijani side. Earlier, there were international calls to end the fighting and return to the negotiating table.
About a week ago, hostile countries agreed to a ceasefire, mediated by Russia. However, this agreement was broken shortly after its entry into force. The warring parties blamed each other for this, as well as for the outbreak of new fighting in late September.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made an urgent call on Saturday night in phone calls with his colleagues in Armenia and Azerbaijan to comply with the agreement. Shortly afterwards, the foreign ministries of both countries announced a “humanitarian ceasefire” word for word.
But that same night, a spokeswoman for the Armenian Defense Ministry said in the capital Yerevan that there had been artillery and rocket fire from the opposite side. Azerbaijan launched an attack in the south of the conflict region on the border with Iran. There were deaths and injuries. The Foreign Ministry announced that Armenia would “take all necessary measures” to force Azerbaijan to make peace.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, in turn, later accused Armenia of “seriously” violating the agreement. Consequently, the Armenian side is said to have shelled the city of Cebrayil and several villages that were previously under Azerbaijani control. Azerbaijan has “taken retaliatory measures,” he said.
Lavrov reminded the parties to the conflict, according to his ministry, that the ceasefire also served humanitarian reasons. However, according to the Armenian Defense Ministry, a proposal to rescue the wounded overnight was “strictly” rejected by the Azerbaijani side.
Even before it came into force, France welcomed the ceasefire, which had also followed French mediation. “This ceasefire must be unconditionally and strictly enforced by both parties,” he said from the Elysee Palace. France will follow the situation very closely ”and“ will continue working to achieve a permanent cessation of hostilities and the early start of credible talks ”.
The two former Soviet republics have been fighting for decades over the mountainous region of about 145,000 people. Armenia controls Nagorno-Karabakh, but under international law it belongs to Islamic Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan lost control of the area in a war that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union some 30 years ago. Since 1994 there has been a fragile ceasefire.
There had already been new fights with dead and wounded on Saturday. Azerbaijan reported heavy attacks by Armenia in Ganja, the second largest city in the country. According to the authorities, 13 people died and 50 were injured in the rocket fire. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called the attack a war crime on television and threatened to hold the Armenian leadership accountable.
Armenia accused its belligerent neighbor of being behind the attack and of using it as “propaganda” against the Armenians. The Yerevan authorities reported rocket attacks by Azerbaijan, including in Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Berlin Foreign Ministry called on both countries “to return immediately to the path of a peaceful and lasting resolution of the conflict.” A spokesman for the EU Foreign Affairs representative, Josep Borrell, said: “All attacks on civilians and civilian facilities must come to an end.”
Thousands of people have fled the mountainous region, which is inhabited predominantly by Armenian Christians from Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh authorities said on Sunday that 673 soldiers had been killed since new fighting began on September 27. So far, Azerbaijan has not provided information on losses in its armed forces. Around 60 civilians were killed in Armenian attacks.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201018-99-984515 / 3
