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About two weeks after the outbreak of fierce fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, the weapons are now said to be silent for the time being – a ceasefire went into effect. It should allow the exchange of prisoners and the delivery of the dead.
After days of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the southern Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a ceasefire went into effect at noon (local time). Russia negotiated this on Saturday night after hours of negotiations. According to the Moscow government, it will be used to exchange prisoners and other detainees and deliver the bodies of dead soldiers to their countries of origin.
The fundamental peace negotiations will take place under the leadership of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The group is led by Russia, the United States and France, which are mediating in the conflict.
Hundreds killed since the fighting broke out
The situation in the region was tense until shortly before the ceasefire began. According to information from Armenia, there have been numerous air strikes. Azerbaijan tried to gain an advantage before the ceasefire, said Armenian military spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan. The Baku government, however, accuses the Yerevan government of having bombed numerous settlements.
Hundreds of people have died since fighting broke out between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces in late September. On the Armenian side alone, more than 400 soldiers are said to have died in Nagorno-Karabakh. So far, Azerbaijan has not provided any information on its own losses, but speaks of some 30 civilians killed. There are thousands of refugees in the troubled region. The fighting is the most intense since a ceasefire was reached in 1994.
Decades of conflict
The conflict between the two countries has raged for decades. The Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is populated predominantly by Armenians, was separated from Azerbaijan in a war in the early 1990s. Baku’s leaders accuse neighboring Armenia of occupying Azerbaijani territory in violation of international law.
