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Heavy fighting has broken out again in the South Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The two parties to the conflict, Armenia and Azerbaijan, blamed each other for the new skirmishes and spoke of “losses” between the enemy.
According to Armenia, at least three civilians died. Nagorno-Karabakh authorities said that the capital of Stepanakert and the city of Shushi were “heavily” shelled by the Azerbaijani side throughout the night. Several houses were burned in Suschi. There were also several injured.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry also reported attacks on the city of Terter and two other villages in the morning. The Goranboi region of Azerbaijan was also fired upon.
More than 1100 soldiers killed
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict dates back decades. Azerbaijan lost control of the area with around 145,000 residents in a war after the collapse of the Soviet Union some 30 years ago. Since 1994 there has been a fragile ceasefire. The region was controlled by Armenia, but under international law it belongs to Islamic Azerbaijan, which can rely on its “sister state” Turkey in the conflict. Russia is considered to be the protecting power of Armenia.
New battles have broken out since September. Several ceasefire agreements did not work. The Nagorno-Karabakh authorities recently spoke of the deaths of more than 1,100 soldiers. Azerbaijan did not provide any information. There were only the number of civilians killed as 92. In Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, more than 50 people were reported to have died.
Turkey is said to have interfered in the fighting
The Armenian Defense Ministry in the capital Yerevan reported that Azerbaijan had received support from Turkish forces during its attacks. However, there is no official confirmation for the use of these forces. According to the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities, there were clashes across the front. The army has the situation under control.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry in the capital Baku, in turn, reported attacks from the opposite side in the city of Terter and in several villages. In addition, several army positions on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border were attacked. Independent verification of this information is not possible.
