Fresh Caucasus truce undermined by fighting

Armenia, Azerbaijan trade accusations over breaches of Nagorno-Karabakh pact

YEREVAN/BAKU－Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other on Sunday of violating a new humanitarian cease-fire in fighting over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, hours after it was agreed.

The Armenian defense ministry said the Azerbaijani army had fired twice during the night and used artillery.

The Azerbaijani defense ministry said: "The enemy fired at the vicinity of Jabrail city, as well as the villages of this region… using mortars and artillery". It added that the Azerbaijani army "took adequate retaliatory measures".

Officials in Nagorno-Karabakh said Azerbaijani forces had launched an attack on the region's military positions and there were casualties and wounded on both sides.

The truce agreed on Saturday came into force at midnight after a week-old Russian-brokered cease-fire failed to halt the worst fighting in the South Caucasus since the 1990s.

Armenia and Azerbaijan had agreed on the new "humanitarian truce" in the region starting from midnight on Saturday, the two countries' foreign ministries announced on Saturday evening.

"This decision was taken following the statement of the presidents of the French Republic, the Russian Federation and the United States of America, representing the co-chair countries of the OSCE(the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) Minsk Group, of Oct 1, 2020, the statement by the co-chairs of the Minsk Group of Oct 5, and in line with Moscow statement of Oct 10,2020," the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Azerbaijan confirmed the agreement in an identical statement.

Second agreement

It is the second truce agreement both sides have agreed on in weeks. The first one came on Oct 10, following lengthy negotiations in Moscow on Oct 9, which the two countries later accused each other of breaching.

The new agreement was announced shortly after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held telephone conversations with his counterparts from Armenia and Azerbaijan, during which he urged both sides to "strictly follow" the first truce agreement.

According to a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry, the three ministers also reaffirmed the importance of starting "substantive negotiations" to peacefully settle the conflict.

Hours after Saturday's announcement, the Elysee Palace said in a statement that French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the new agreement.

"This cease-fire must be unconditional and strictly observed by both parties. France will be very attentive to this, and will remain committed so that hostilities cease on a lasting basis and that credible discussions can quickly begin," the statement said.

Earlier on Saturday, Azerbaijan's law enforcement authorities said at least 12 civilians were killed and 40 others wounded when Armenian armed forces fired missiles into Azerbaijan's second-largest city, Ganja.

In response, Artsrun Hovhannisyan, spokesman for the Armenian Defense Ministry, denied the attack and accused Baku of continuing to shell some areas inside Nagorno-Karabakh, including Stepanakert, the major city of the mountainous region.

An official in Nagorno-Karabakh said on Sunday the region had recorded a further 40 casualties among its fighters, pushing the death toll among its forces to 673 since the latest conflict erupted on Sept 27.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at loggerheads over the Nagorno-Karabakh region since 1988. Peace talks have been held on occasions since 1994, when a cease-fire was reached. Until this year, sporadic clashes had been largely minor.

Xinhua - Agencies