Azerbaijan mentioned it had captured seven of its Armenian-controlled villages, a declare Yerevan denied.
Yerevan, Armenia:
Baku and Yerevan put themselves on a conflict footing after heavy combating erupted Sunday between Azerbaijan and Armenian separatists, claiming army and civilian casualties on either side, together with not less than one youngster.
The worst clashes since 2016 have raised the spectre of a recent conflict between arch enemies Azerbaijan and Armenia which have been locked for many years in a territorial dispute over the Armenia-backed breakaway area of Nagorny Karabakh.
A significant confrontation between the ex-Soviet Caucasus neighbours would attract huge regional gamers Moscow and Ankara.
Russia, France, Germany and the EU swiftly urged an “rapid ceasefire,” whereas Pope Francis prayed for peace.
The Armenian defence ministry spokesman, Artsrun Hovhannisyan, mentioned intense combating continued alongside the Karabakh frontline Sunday afternoon.
Azerbaijan mentioned it had captured seven of its Armenian-controlled villages, a declare Yerevan denied.
‘Sacred homeland’
In a televised tackle to the nation earlier within the day, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev vowed victory over Armenian forces.
“Our trigger is simply and we’ll win,” Aliyev mentioned, repeating a well-known quote from Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin’s tackle on the outbreak of World Struggle II in Russia.
“Karabakh is Azerbaijan,” he mentioned.
Each Armenia and the breakaway area of Nagorny Karabakh declared martial legislation and army mobilisation.
“Get able to defend our sacred homeland,” Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan mentioned on Fb.
Armenia mentioned earlier Sunday that Azerbaijan attacked civilian settlements in Nagorny Karabakh together with the principle metropolis Stepanakert.
Azerbaijan accused Armenian forces of violating a ceasefire, saying it had launched a counter-offensive to “guarantee the protection of the inhabitants”, utilizing tanks, artillery missiles, fight aviation and drones.
“There are studies of lifeless and wounded amongst civilians and army servicemen,” Azerbaijan’s international ministry mentioned. “Intensive harm has been inflicted on many properties and civilian infrastructure.”
Karabakh’s rights ombudsman Artak Beglaryan pointed to “civilian casualties,” whereas Armenia mentioned a girl and youngster have been killed.
Russia, EU urge ceasefire
Ethnic Armenian separatists seized the Nagorny Karabakh area from Baku in a 1990s conflict that claimed 30,000 lives.
Talks to resolve one of many worst conflicts to emerge from the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union have been largely stalled since a 1994 ceasefire settlement.
France, Russia and america have mediated peace efforts because the “Minsk Group” however the final huge push for a peace deal collapsed in 2010.
Azerbaijan’s ally Turkey blamed Yerevan for the flare-up and promised Baku its “full help”.
“We strongly condemn the assault by Armenia towards Azerbaijan,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin mentioned on Twitter.
Russia’s Lavrov spoke along with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, Moscow mentioned, stressing “the necessity to halt fireplace as quickly as potential”.
The 2 mentioned “Armenia’s aggression”, a Turkish diplomatic supply mentioned.
Pope Francis informed crowds on Saint Peter’s Sq. he was praying for peace and referred to as for “concrete gestures of fine will and fraternity” from the warring sides.
Political observers mentioned international powers ought to intensify talks to cease the battle.
“We’re a step away from a large-scale conflict,” Olesya Vartanyan of the Worldwide Disaster Group informed AFP.
“One of many fundamental causes for the present escalation is a scarcity of any proactive worldwide mediation between the perimeters for weeks,” she added.
“Struggle is resuming. Time for Russia, France and US, individually and collectively, to cease it,” tweeted Dmitry Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Centre.
‘Turkish mercenaries’
Karabakh separatist chief, Arayik Harutyunyan, accused Ankara of sending mercenaries to Azerbaijan.
“We’ve info that mercenaries from Turkey and different international locations have been airlifted to Azerbaijan,” he mentioned.
“The Turkish military is already in Azerbaijan, beneath the guise of army drills,” he claimed.
On Sunday morning, Azerbaijan began “lively bombing” alongside Karabakh’s frontline together with civilian targets and in the principle metropolis Stepanakert, Karabakh’s presidency mentioned.
The insurgent defence ministry mentioned its troops shot down 4 Azerbaijani helicopters and 15 drones, whereas Baku denied the claims.
On Friday, Aliyev accused Armenia of undermining Karabakh peace talks.
In July, heavy clashes alongside the 2 international locations’ shared border — tons of of kilometres from Karabakh — claimed the lives of not less than 17 troopers from either side.
Elevating the stakes, Azerbaijan on the time threatened to strike Armenia’s atomic energy station if Yerevan attacked strategic services.
Throughout the worst current clashes in April 2016, round 110 folks have been killed.
(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)
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