Azerbaijan and Armenia on Wednesday blamed each other for killing civilians by shelling Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding towns in a month-long conflict over a mountain siege that halted three ceasefires. Is.
Azerbaijan says Armenian artillery shells hit the
town of Barda, northeast of Nagorno-Karabakh, killing 14 people.
Armenian-backed officials in Nagorno-Karabakh said Azeri shells hit two of the
largest cities in the enclave, killing one person.
Both sides denied each other's claims.
The worst fighting in nearly 30 years in the
South Caucasus has raised fears of a wider war in Azerbaijan's allies, Russia
and Turkey. It also threatens oil and gas pipelines from Azerbaijan to world
markets.
The Armenian Ministry of Defense also confirmed
on Wednesday that Azerbaijan had captured the town of Gubadli, between the
enclave and the Iranian border, a clear military advantage that could make a
diplomatic solution more difficult.
Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized’
as part of Azerbaijan but has a population and ethnic Armenians. About 30,000
people were killed’ in the 1991-94 war in the region.
Azerbaijan rejects any solution that would allow
the Armenians to take control of the enclave, which it considers illegal
occupiers. Armenia considers the area part of its historic homeland and says
its population needs protection.
The Prosecutor General of the Azerbaijani office
said 14 people were killed’ in Barda. Earlier, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry
said that the Armenian army had opened fire on settlements in the nearby Tartar
region and Aghjabedi.
The Emergency and Rescue Service of the ethnic
Armenian-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh said shells fell on Stepanakert, the
largest town in the enclave. He said a civilian was killed’ in shelling in
Shushi, another town 15 kilometers (9 miles) south.
Reuters could not independently verify the
reports.
The Nagorno-Karabakh Ministry of Defense has
recorded 1,068 military casualties since the fighting began on September 27.
Azerbaijan has not disclosed its military casualties. Russia estimates the
death toll at around 5,000.
The latest three ceasefires were broken in
Washington on Sunday. US President Donald Trump has called the new battle
"disappointing" and Foreign Secretary Mike Pompeo has called on both
sides to work for a diplomatic solution.
The OSCE Minsk Group, set up to resolve the
dispute and is headed by France, Russia and the United States, will meet with
the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in Geneva on Thursday. Turkey
has demanded a bigger role in the group.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by
telephone with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday; expressing concern
over what he said was the growing involvement of militants from the Middle
East.
Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey was sincere
in its efforts to resolve the conflict and believed in Russia's sincerity. He
said he had told Putin that Armenia was using Kurdish militants.
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