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Azerbaijan’s second-largest city has come under fire from Armenian missiles as the conflict escalates, said an aide to the Azerbaijani president.
The development marks a strong escalation in war that erupted a week ago in the South Caucasus despite calls from Russia, the United States, France and the EU for a ceasefire.
Until now, the main fighting had been between Azerbaijan and the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan that is also known as Artsakh.
This building in Ganja had its windows blown off by the bombing
That now threatens to escalate into direct war between the two nations.
Almost 200 Nagorno-Karabakh military personnel have died so far, according to officials, while Azerbaijani officials said 22 of its civilians were killed and 74 wounded.
Hikmet Hajiyev, an aide to the Azerbaijani president, tweeted a video on Sunday showing damaged buildings and said it was the result of “massive Armenian missile attacks on dense residential areas” in Ganja, Azerbaijan’s second-largest city that it is not found in Nagorno-Karabakh.
He said the attacks on Ganja and Beylagan, which border Nagorno-Karabakh, were launched “from the territory of Armenia.”
The Armenian Defense Ministry denied the attack, saying that “no fire of any kind is being opened from the territory of Armenia in the direction of Azerbaijan.”
However, Nagorno-Karabakh leader Arayik Harutyunyan said on Facebook that he ordered “rocket attacks to neutralize military objects” in Ganja, but then stopped firing to avoid civilian casualties.
His spokesman, Vahram Poghosyan, said the region’s army destroyed a military airport in Ganja, a claim that Azerbaijani officials denied.
This family’s home in Garagoyunlu, Azerbaijan, was also damaged
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry tweeted that the attack killed one civilian and injured four others.
The conflict threatens to drag in other regional powers because Azerbaijan has the support of Turkey, while Armenia has a defense pact with Russia.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister said: “The Armenian attacks on civilians in Ganja … are a further manifestation of Armenia’s illegal attitude. We condemn these attacks.”
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev tweeted that his forces had captured the city of Jabrail and several villages.
Armenia’s Defense Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan dismissed the claim as “just another invention”, but no independent verification was possible.
A large plume of smoke was seen rising from Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan has previously accused Armenia of firing at its territory from the city of Vardenis, 50 miles (80k) from Nagorno-Karabakh, but Armenia has denied this.
On Saturday, Azerbaijan said its forces had captured a number of villages.
The conflict is the worst since the 1990s, when some 30,000 people died.
There is international concern about stability in the southern Caucasus as pipelines carry Azerbaijani oil and gas to world markets.
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