Armenia, Azerbaijan allege cease-fire breaches

Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders on Friday accused each other of breaching a cease-fire agreement in Nagorno-Karabakh where fighting continued for a sixth straight week.Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov said his country will never accept the occupation of its territories and "will go till the end".

Asadov was speaking via video conference to his Russian counterpart, Mikhail Mishustin, and Armenian vice Prime Minister, Mher Grigoryan.Grigoryan for his part blamed Azerbaijan for violating the cease-fire in the region and called on Azerbaijan to "understand that military solution of Nagorno-Karabakh issue does not exist."

At least three civilians were killed in the latest shelling of Nagorno-Karabakh cities Friday as Azerbaijan pushed its offensive to reclaim control over the separatist territory, territorial authorities said.Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry denied targeting civilian areas, as it has on previous days of fighting, and accused Armenia of targeting the city of Terter and nearby villages in Azerbaijan.

Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994.The latest outbreak of fighting started on Sept. 27 and has left hundreds — if not thousands — dead, marking the worst escalation of the decades-old conflict between the two ex-Soviet nations in over a quarter-century.

According to Nagorno-Karabakh officials, 1,177 of their troops and 50 civilians have been killed.Azerbaijani authorities haven't disclosed their military losses, but say the fighting has killed at least 92 civilians and wounded over 400.But Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Oct. 22 that the actual death toll was nearing 5,000, according to the information Moscow had at the time.

Over 130,000 residents have been displaced since the fighting flared up, the U.N. children's agency UNICEF has reported.The fighting has continued to rage despite international attempts to end hostilities, with two Russia-brokered cease-fires and a U.S.-negotiated truce failing instantly after they took effect.

(Image Credit: AP) 

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