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New heavy fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict region in the South Caucasus resulted in more deaths and injuries. According to Armenian information, 30 more soldiers died between Wednesday and Thursday, bringing the death toll to 350.
Azerbaijan has yet to provide information on losses in its own ranks. Since the new confrontation began more than a week and a half ago, at least 31 civilians have died.
Severely damaged cathedral in Shusha
According to the Armenian Defense Ministry, the cathedral in the city of Shusha was also bombed. Two Russian journalists were seriously injured. The condition of one of the two is critical. The army released images of major damage to the church.
According to the AFP news agency, Azerbaijan denied being responsible for the bombing of the Ghazanchezoz cathedral. This “has nothing to do with the military actions of the Azerbaijani army,” said the Defense Ministry in Baku. “The Azerbaijani army does not target historical, cultural and especially religious buildings and monuments.”
Armenia also announced that the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, Stepanakert, had been hit by rockets again. Thousands of people are fleeing. Authorities in the unrecognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh have so far reported 22 civilian victims.
About 145,000 people live in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in the southern Caucasus. In a war that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union some 30 years ago, Azerbaijan lost control of the area. Now it is inhabited by Armenian Christians from Karabakh. Since 1994 there has been a fragile ceasefire.
Mediation in Geneva – and Moscow?
Russia, the United States and France are mediating the conflict with the so-called Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov wanted to meet with OSCE representatives in Geneva on Thursday and explain Baku’s views to them.
Austria, however, offered itself as a “place of dialogue”. According to the Tass State Agency, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that a meeting at the ministerial level of Foreign Affairs between Armenia and Azerbaijan with OSCE mediators is currently being negotiated.
The Armenian foreign minister did not want to attend the meeting with the OSCE anyway, according to AFP. Instead, he wanted to participate in the talks under the leadership of the Russian Foreign Minister in Moscow on Monday.
According to France and Russia, pro-Turkish militias from Syria and Libya are also involved in the fighting. Turkey supports Azerbaijan in the war with weapons and personnel. Russia maintains good relations with both parties, but is considered to be the military protective power of Armenia.
