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The Nagorno-Karabakh separatists declare a total military mobilization and have called on the population to prepare for war.
Separatists, who have controlled the enclave since 1994, announced on Sunday morning that Azerbaijani forces had bombed both the front line and the town of Stepanakert.
They also said that they had shot down two Azerbaijani helicopter gunships after the bombing began.
According to the DPA news agency, all residents over the age of 18 have been told to prepare for war.
Both sides blame each other, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has stated on Facebook that the attack started from the Azerbaijani side.
“All responsibility for this lies with the Azerbaijani side,” said a spokesman for the Armenian Defense Ministry.
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– Civil loss
A few hours later, the separatist presidency declared full military mobilization and announced that it was now the laws of war in the region that were being applied.
The Azerbaijani government, for its part, said that the Armenian separatists attacked first and that it was a counterattack.
Both parties have also reported the loss of civilian life.
There have been reports of deaths and injuries among civilians and soldiers, stated in a message from the president’s office in Azerbaijan.
DESTROYED: A blanket of smoke surrounds what is supposed to be an Azerbaijani tank in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Photo: Reuters
Separatists control the predominantly Armenian enclave, but it is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
From 1988 to 1994, Nagorno-Karabakh was hit by a war with ethnic Armenians backed by Armenia on the one hand and Azerbaijani forces supported by Chechen and Afghan fighters on the other.
The vast majority of the inhabitants of the enclave are Armenian Christians, while the minority are Azerbaijanis, who are mainly Muslim.
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CLAIMS OF HAVING BEEN ATTACKED: Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says Azerbaijan launched airstrikes against the region. Photo: Alexei Druzhinin / Pool Sputnik Kremlin
The six-year war began after a newly formed assembly in the enclave declared that it would join Armenia in 1988. The decision was condemned by the Azerbaijani minority in the enclave, but in a subsequent referendum the majority voted for independence.
This sparked clashes between the two ethnic groups, where both accused each other of ethnic cleansing.
With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, a full-scale war broke out. With the support of Armenia, the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh managed to take full control of the region and several surrounding regions. About 800,000 Azerbaijanis were forced to flee.
