Published 16:29 IST, October 17th 2020
Azerbaijan accuses Armenia of 'war crimes' over shelling in Ganja city
Armenian side dismissed the allegations saying that no fire was opened by its military in the direction of Azerbaijan and has accused the Azeris of sending UAVs
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In the latest development in the Caucasus region of Eurasia, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has accused Armenia of attacking the country's second-largest city of Ganja as the conflict between the two nations seems far from dying out. According to ANI, Aliyev on October 17 during an address to the nation, described the shelling of Ganja as a "war crime" and said that those responsible for the attack will get a befitting "response on the battlefield". As per the report, 13 bodies have been recovered from the debris following the shelling of Ganja.
'No missile was fired'
Meanwhile, the Armenian side dismissed the allegations saying that no fire was opened by its military in the direction of Azerbaijan and has instead accused the Azeris of sending two unmanned areal vehicles (UAVs), which it claims to have shot down last night. Shushan Stepanyan, Press Secretary of Armenian Defence Ministry on Twitter said that two "enemy" UAVs were detected in the Armenian airspace on, and appropriate measures were taken to handle the violation.
We declare that no missile was fired in the direction of the Ordubad region of #Nakhichevan, this is another lie of the #Azerbaijani military-political leadership, which aims to expand the geography of the conflict.
— Shushan Stepanyan (@ShStepanyan) October 16, 2020
The Armenian side also accused Azerbaijan of resuming rocket and artillery strikes at CIV settlements, particularly in Stepanakert and Shushi, a city in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The fight between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh region has entered the 20th day on Saturday as it had resumed on September 27 following skirmishes that began in July this year. Both sides are determined to claim victory, which is making the international community worried.
The world, including the United Nations and European Union, is urging the warring parties to reach a peaceful settlement and ceasefire. Earlier this month, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to stop the war and resolve the issues peacefully.
(With inputs from ANI)
16:30 IST, October 17th 2020