A ceasefire came into effect in the Nagorno-Karabakh region on Saturday at 10:00 am (12:00 pm local time). Shortly after the ceasefire came into effect, however, Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other of carrying out new attacks. It is still unclear whether the file will survive.
According to the Armenian Ministry of Defense, Azerbaijani forces launched a missile towards Karakhanbeyli, an area along the front line, at 10:05 AM. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, in turn, reported that Armenian forces carried out shelling in Terter and Agdam, 30 minutes after the ceasefire went into effect.
The countries agreed on the night from Friday to Saturday to lay down their weapons in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Russia, a member of the Minsk group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, brokered the truce between the two sides in Moscow.
Although it is unknown exactly how long the file will last, it is an unexpected development in the conflict that has only escalated in the last two weeks. Azerbaijan said earlier that it did not want to make concessions in the conflict and to recapture the area.
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At present, fighting continues along the eastern borders of Nagorno-Karabakh and north of the Iranian border. (Infographic: NU.nl/Joris Knikkink)
Exact death numbers not known
In Nagorno-Karabakh, mainly Armenian separatists are currently fighting, but they often find it difficult to compete with the more modern weaponry of the Azeris, who are supported by Turkey.
Conflicting information from the two camps makes it difficult to verify information about victims, for example. Exact death rates are therefore unknown. It is clear that these are estimated to number in the hundreds.
The capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, Stepanakert, was heavily bombed in the past week. Much damage was caused and possibly civilian casualties. About 150,000 people live in Nagorno-Karabakh.
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