At least 23 people were killed and over 100 sustained injuries on Sunday (local time) as heavy clashes broke out between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the disputed separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Sixteen Armenian separatist fighters were killed and more than 100 wounded in the fighting, rebel officials said, Al Jazeera reported. Both sides also reported casualties including at least one Armenian woman and child.
An Azerbaijani family of five was reportedly killed in shelling launched by Armenian separatists. Earlier in the day, heavy fighting between the forces of Azerbaijan and Armenia broke out in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh region. According to Al Jazeera, Armenia has declared martial law and ordered its military to mobilise after a major “flare-up in violence” with Azerbaijan broke out over the disputed region.
Heavy firing broke out between the two countries on Sunday and they both blamed each other for the escalation that led to casualties. Armenia accused the neighbour Azerbaijan “of hurting civilian settlements” in Nagorno-Karabakh — which is recognised as a part of Azerbaijan internationally but controlled by Armenian forces. Azerbaijan launched what it described as a “counteroffensive,” while the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh accused Azerbaijani forces of opening fire against civilians and civilian infrastructure in its capital of Stepanakert.
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Amid the ongoing clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday (local time) said that he is concerned with the fresh “resumption of hostilities” between the two countries. Earlier on Sunday US President Donald Trump said that Washington is looking into what can be done to stop the flare-up of tensions in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan erupted along the region’s contact line on Sunday morning, with each side blaming the other for putting civilian lives in danger.
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