Armenian and Azerbaijani forces resume fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh despite ceasefire
- The Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, overwhelmingly populated by Armenians, has been controlled by Armenians since a war in the 1990s
- Daily fighting has made a mockery of the ceasefire agreed between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers over the weekend
More than two weeks of fighting between the Caucasus rivals has left almost 600 dead, including 73 civilians, according to a tally based on partial tolls from both sides.
The Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, overwhelmingly populated by Armenians, has been controlled by Armenians since a 1990s war that erupted as the Soviet Union fell. But Azerbaijan has never hidden its desire to win back control and no state has ever recognised Nagorno-Karabakh’s declaration of independence.
The fighting has been the most intense since a 1994 ceasefire ended the initial post-Soviet war. Even a humanitarian truce to allow exchanges of prisoners and dead has been too much to implement.
“Civilians are dying or suffering life-changing injuries,” said International Committee of the Red Cross Eurasia regional director Martin Schuepp in a statement. “Homes, businesses and once busy streets are being reduced to rubble.”
He said hundreds of thousands of people across the region were affected, with health care services coming under strain and even attacked in some cases.
The Nagorno-Karabakh separatist authorities accused Azerbaijan of launching an offensive in the south, north and northeast of the region.