Armenia, Azerbaijan accuse each other of conducting military attacks

Just two days after agreeing to a ceasefire, conflicting states Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of conducting military attacks on the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. A conflict between the two erstwhile Soviet states began on September 27. Following days of attacks and counterattacks, a truce was finally brokered by Russia but it has now been challenged by mutual accusations.

Read: Armenian Father Tells Of Life Under Daily Bombings

Read: Armenia, Azerbaijan Agree To 'humanitarian Ceasefire' Under Russia Brokered Deal

On October 12, Armenian defence ministry spokeswomen Shishan Stepanian said Azerbaijani forces have been “intensively shelling the southern front”  of the conflict zone.  Meanwhile, the officials of Karabakh Nagorno accused Azerbaijan of directing “large number of forces” to area of Hadrut along with reporting large scale hostilities.

On the other hand, Azerbaijan has denied all the accusation calling them “disinformation” and insisted that the country had been observing the ceasefire. The central Asian state, in turn, accused Armenian forces of shelling the Goranboy, Terter and Agdam regions, all of which lie in the vicinity of  Nagorno-Karabakh.

Read: Nagorno-Karabakh Leaders Urge Armenia To Form 'anti-terrorism Center' Amid Intense Clashes

Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict 

The new fight, which erupted on September 27, is considered to be the heaviest in decades. Hundreds of people have been killed in the past week, including over 40 civilians. The Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict has raised international concern about stability in the South Caucasus, a region zig-zagged with pipelines that Azeri oil and gas to world markets. 

While internationally, the Nagorno-Karabakh region is recognised as a de jure part of Azerbaijan, Armenians claim that the region was a part of their kingdom from the fourth century BCE. Joseph Stalin decided to make the Nagorno-Karabakh region an autonomous oblast of Azerbaijan. 

With fears of the clashes expanding into an all-out multi-front war, global leaders were daunted at the possibility of fighting spilling over to other regional powers — Turkey and Russia. While Ankara is Azerbaijan’s strongest supporter, Moscow, on the other hand, has a military base in Armenia. Earlier, Armenia even accused Turkey of supplying fighters to the conflict out of northern-Syria. 

Meanwhile, thousands of people are fleeing to southern Armenia to escape the conflict in the region. Footage from British broadcaster Sky News showed ethnic Armenians arriving in the Goris on October 4 carrying all their possessions as men left for the front lines.

Read: Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: Why Are Armenia And Azerbaijan Fighting Over The Region?

Image: AP