People flee disputed area of Nagorno-Karabakh

Thousands of ethnic Armenians are fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijanian forces continue their advance.

A long line of traffic has been seen on the outskirts of Stepanakert with people trying to leave the conflict zone.

Aida Abramyan, a resident of Stepanakert, is one of the thousands that have left their home and possessions and are trying to escape.

She has left everything behind and does not know what the future holds for her.

"What can a woman feel without a house, without belongings, without anything, " she said.

Armenian emergency services have organized ambulances for the injured to be transported into safe zones.

The ambulances are jammed with wounded soldiers and civilians, with nurses treating them while driving.

On Sunday Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said Azerbaijan forces took control of the strategically key city of Shushi in Nagorno-Karabakh where fighting with Armenia has raged for more than a month.

Shushi is of significant military value because it sits on heights about 10 kilometers (six miles) south of the region's capital of Stepanakert and lies along the main road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.

However, Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Ovannisian said on Facebook after Aliyev's claim that "fighting in Shushi is continuing. Wait and believe in our troops."

Nagorno-Karabakh's emergency committee also reported strong fighting in other parts of the region, including the large eastern town of Martuni.

Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian government since 1994 at the end of a separatist war following the breakup of the Soviet Union three years earlier.

The latest outbreak of fighting started on September 27 and has left hundreds, if not thousands, dead.