Armenian, Azerbaijani forces engage in new clashes overnight and Monday morning, days after ceasefire crumbled.
- New clashes overnight as last week’s Moscow-brokered ceasefire falters
- Some 500 people, including more than 60 civilians, reportedly killed in less than one month of fighting
- Fresh talks planned for Monday in Moscow
10:40 GMT – Russian foreign minister confident of upholding ceasefire
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says he is confident the countries contacts with the defence ministries of Armenia and Azerbaijan will help to uphold the ceasefire, Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith reported from Goris, Armenia.
“[Sergei] Lavrov is clearly confident that he is able to exert enough pressure on Azerbaijan and Armenia to try and fully enforce a ceasefire,” Smith said.
09:54 GMT – A couple die in alleged Armenian attack on Azerbaijan
A tweet from Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu, currently reporting from Azerbaijan, shows the human cost of weeks-long fighting.
A farewell to #Anar and #Nurchin… A couple who died together under the rubbles as a #TOCHKA-U missile fired by #Armenianforces hit #Azerbaijan’s 2nd largest city, #Ganja last night. pic.twitter.com/74JWdutFuu
— Sinem Köseoğlu (@sinemkoseoglu) October 12, 2020
09:43 GMT – Russia, which brokered recent ceasefire agreement, calls for peace
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that it was extremely important for ethnic Armenian and Azeri forces to respect a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh that was brokered by Russia at the weekend.
Since coming into force on Saturday, the truce has frayed, with both sides accusing each other of grave violations and attacks against civilians.
Peskov said the Kremlin was monitoring events on the ground closely.
500 people have been reported killed since then.
Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, Armenia’s foreign minister, was due to hold talks in Moscow later on Monday with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
09:40 GMT – Civilian areas hit in second most-populous city in Azerbaijan
Civilian areas including homes and shops were hit on Sunday in the Azerbaijan city of Ganja, the BBC reported on Sunday. At least nine civilians were reportedly killed.
We saw no sign of any military targets in the area that was hit just civilian homes and shops. #Ganja is the second largest city in #Azerbaijan. The frontline line with #NagornoKarabakh is about 60kms away. pic.twitter.com/JrLptaTqkX
— Orla Guerin (@OrlaGuerin) October 11, 2020
09:05 GMT – Air raid sirens in Stepanakert heard
Air raid sirens were heard in the city of Stepanakert, Neil Hauer a non-resident fellow at the Middle East Institute posted on Twitter.
The heaviest battles continued to take place in the town of Hadrut, Hauer reported, a city which Azerbaijan say it liberated last week. Armenian authorities have rejected the claims.
Air raid sirens in Stepanakert
— Neil Hauer (@NeilPHauer) October 12, 2020
Fighting reported in numerous sectors of Karabakh frontline. Hadrut continues to witness the heaviest battles as Azerbaijani forces attempt to advance on the town.
— Neil Hauer (@NeilPHauer) October 12, 2020
8:00 GMT – New Armenia-Azerbaijan clashes as ceasefire crumbles
Armenian and Azerbaijani forces were engaged in new clashes overnight and Monday morning, AFP news agency correspondents said, as the two sides accused each other of violating a Russian-brokered ceasefire over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
An AFP correspondent in the Azerbaijani town of Barda not far from the front line heard the thumping echoes of shelling Monday morning.
In Nagorno-Karabakh’s main city of Stepanakert, an AFP photographer heard the sounds of shelling from the direction of the town of Hadrut.
Good morning. This is Usaid Siddiqui in Doha and Anealla Safdar in London bringing you the latest updates on the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis today, Monday, October 12. Here’s a quick recap:
After almost two weeks of clashes, marathon talks in Moscow between the warring countries led to a ceasefire agreement that went into effect on Saturday.
Minutes into the agreed truce, however, Armenia and Azerbaijan accused one another of breaking the ceasefire.
Once again, there are minimal hopes for peace being achieved any time soon.
The Russian-brokered ceasefire was meant to halt fighting to allow ethnic Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh and Azeri forces to swap prisoners and war dead under the auspices of the Red Cross.
You can find out more about developments since the truce here.
Looking ahead to Monday, there are more diplomatic efforts to end the crisis, in which at least hundreds have been killed.
Armenia’s foreign minister is due in Moscow on Monday for talks with officials from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) Minsk group led by France, Russia and the United States.
More on that later…
October 12, 2020 at 04:54PM
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/12/nagorno-karabakh-live-news
Fresh push for peace as Nagorno-Karabakh truce fails: Live news - Al Jazeera English
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