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- Armenian and Azerbaijani forces hit each other with rockets and artillery in a new round of decades-long conflict in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
- The fierce fighting, which continued for a third day on Tuesday, has killed dozens of soldiers and at least 11 civilians so far.
- The UN and the international community have called for an immediate ceasefire and a negotiated settlement.
Here are the latest updates:
08:50 GMT – Merkel urges an ‘immediate ceasefire’ in the fighting in Karabakh
German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for an “immediate” end to the fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh region in phone calls with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, her spokeswoman said.
“The chancellor urgently called for an immediate ceasefire and a return to the negotiating table,” Steffen Seibert said.
Merkel spoke with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Monday and with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Tuesday, it added.
08:45 GMT – Ten Azerbaijani civilians killed since the start of the fighting: Ifax quotes the Azeri president
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said 10 Azerbaijani civilians had been killed since fighting with Armenian forces began on Sunday in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, Interfax news agency reported.
Armenian and Azeri forces have accused each other of firing at border positions and civilian settlements in Nagorno-Karabakh, in some of the worst fighting since the 1990s.
“I don’t even want to imagine in my mind what can happen.”
Fierce fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia has escalated further, killing at least 26 more soldiers in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region for fear that the fighting will escalate into a full-scale war. pic.twitter.com/wNwS9Emp6z
– Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) September 29, 2020
08:40 GMT – Azerbaijan’s SOCAR says its oil infrastructure is guarded by the army
The Azeri state energy company SOCAR has said that the country’s oil infrastructure was being guarded by the army amid fighting with ethnic Armenian forces in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, Interfax news agency reported.
08:10 GMT – Azeri forces fire on Armenian military unit far from Nagorno-Karabakh: Armenia
Azeri armed forces opened fire on an Armenian military unit in the border town of Vardenis, miles from the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, which has been the focus of clashes in recent days, the Armenian Defense Ministry said.
A civilian bus caught fire after being hit by an Azeri unmanned drone, it said in a statement.
Separately, Armenia denied a previous report by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry that the Armenian army had bombed the Dashkesan region on the border between the two countries.
06:15 GMT – The Nagorno-Karabakh fight continues for the third day
Armenian and Azeri forces have deployed heavy artillery in recent fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, both sides said.
The Azeri Defense Ministry said opposing forces tried to make up lost ground by launching counterattacks towards Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Agdere and Terter and that there was fighting around the city of Fizuli on Tuesday morning and the Armenian army shelled the Dashkesan region in the border between the two countries, miles from Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenia denied bombing Dashkesan but reported that it had fought overnight and said the Nagorno-Karabakh army repelled the attacks from various directions along the line of contact.
05:30 GMT – 53 soldiers killed in clashes with Azerbaijani forces: Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh said 53 of its soldiers had been killed in fighting with Azeri forces.
It also said it had regained part of the lost territory on Sunday, but its leader later said that neither the Azeri army nor the Armenian army captured tactical positions during the fighting on Monday.
He said that the Azeri army had launched a significant attack against Matagis and Talish.
05:25 GMT – OIC condemns Armenian ‘aggression’ against Azerbaijan
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has condemned Armenia’s “aggression” against Azerbaijan and called for a political solution to the conflict between the two countries.
Renewing its solidarity with Azerbaijan, the organization said it was deeply concerned and was monitoring several of Armenia’s attacks on its eastern neighbor and “violating the ceasefire and leaving civilian casualties.”
“That [OIC] calls for the total and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian forces from the occupied Azerbaijani territories and for dialogue to reach a political solution to the conflict between the two countries based on respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the inviolability of its internationally recognized borders, ”said the OCI statement.
You can read the September 28 updates here.
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