Armenia and Azerbaijan have not exchanged the bodies of soldiers killed in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh as planned due to ceasefire violations, authorities said on Sunday. The two countries had agreed to a ceasefire starting at midday on Saturday, to exchange prisoners and recover their dead, but the two sides accused each other of violating the agreement over the weekend. A spokesperson for Armenia's armed forces wrote on Facebook that Azerbaijan had attacked settlements in the region on Sunday, while Armenia was sticking to the agreement. Azerbaijan accused Armenia’s capital Yerevan of shelling villages and towns, killing nine civilians and injuring dozens more, including a paramedic who was severely injured while searching for casualties. The claims of both sides could not be independently verified. European Council spokesman Peter Stano said the bloc had noted “with extreme concern” the reports of continued military activities and civilian casualties despite the ceasefire. German Chancellor Angela Merkel later telephoned Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, her press office said. Hundreds of people have died since fighting broke out between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces over the disputed region at the end of September. Explosions rock Nagorno-Karabakh hours after ceasefire put in place Russia mediated the ceasefire between the two parties to de-escalate what has been the deadliest fighting since a ceasefire in 1994. While the roots of the conflict go back several decades, the current conflict has been simmering since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990, when the region, predominantly populated by Armenians, broke away from Azerbaijan. In the ensuing conflict, 30,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands displaced. The leadership in Baku still accuses the neighbouring country of occupying Azerbaijani territory in violation of international law. Although there have been repeated outbreaks of violence in recent years, the recent flare-up has been the fiercest since 1994.