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(AP): Armenia and Azerbaijan today (Sunday) accused each other of violating the new truce in their destructive conflict over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, despite a second attempt at a humanitarian ceasefire.
The latest truce, which was announced on Saturday, was the second attempt to establish a ceasefire since heavy fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces broke out in Nagorno-Karabakh on Sept 27.
During the fighting, hundreds of people — both combatants and civilians — were killed. This is the worst violence in the region since a six-year war over the territory ended with a ceasefire in 1994.
Today (Sunday), Armenian military officials reported artillery shelling and missile strikes by Azerbaijani forces carried out in the conflict zone overnight. Armenian Defence Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanian said, “The enemy, in the morning, launched an attack in the southern direction of the conflict zone, and there were “casualties and wounded on both sides.”
In turn, Azerbaijan’s Defence Ministry maintained that Armenian forces used mortars and artillery in the conflict zone overnight despite the ceasefire and in the morning attempted attacks in several directions.
Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994.
According to Nagorno-Karabakh officials, 673 of their servicemen have been killed in the renewed fighting. Azerbaijan hasn’t disclosed its military losses, but says 60 civilians have died so far and 270 have been wounded.
The escalation of fighting raises the spectre of a wider conflict that could draw in Russia and Turkey and threaten Caspian Sea energy exports. Turkey has publicly backed oil-rich Azerbaijan in the conflict and vowed to help it reclaim its territory.
Russia, which has a security pact with Armenia, hosted top diplomats from both countries last week for more than 10 hours of talks that ended with the initial ceasefire agreement.
However, the deal frayed immediately after the truce took the effect last Saturday, with both sides blaming each other for breaching it.