Baku, Yerevan trade blame for violating Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire
TLTP
BAKU
Azerbaijan shot down another Armenian Su-25 fighter jet, according to the country’s ministry of defence, the second Su-25 to be downed in recent days.
In a statement on Sunday, the ministry said the Su-25 attack aircraft was trying to launch airstrikes on Azerbaijani positions in the Jabrayil region when it was shot down. The jet was destroyed by Azerbaijani forces at around 12:30 p.m. (0830GMT), the ministry said.
Armenia suffered heavy losses as Azerbaijan pushed forward along the front line of the battle, the ministry said. Refuting claims of heavy losses on Azerbaijan’s side, the ministry said that the Azerbaijani army was exerting “operational superiority along the entire front,” said the ministry’s statement.
Earlier on Sunday, Yerevan and Baku accused each other of breaking the ceasefire declared on Saturday. The nations are fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-populated part of Azerbaijan, with hundreds reported killed during the flare-up.
The mutual accusations came on Sunday just hours after the fighting was supposed to be stopped by all sides at midnight Sunday local time (20:00 GMT). Azerbaijan said its opponents shelled locations around the town of Jabrayil which were claimed to have been captured by Azerbaijani troops during the hostilities. Armenia said Azerbaijan broke the truce twice, firing artillery shells and rockets and attempting to move troops into a more favourable position.
The de facto authorities of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic said the hostilities were stopped along some parts of the frontline, but continued elsewhere, as Azerbaijani forces tested the defences of Karabakh’s positions. There were casualties on both sides, they reported.
The previous humanitarian truce announced earlier this month with Russia’s mediation, which was meant to allow prisoner and body swaps, failed to stop the hostilities. Armenia claimed on Sunday that Azerbaijan had rejected its suggestion to agree on an ICRC-supported evacuation of the wounded from the battlefield.
Nagorno-Karabakh saw an escalation of violence in late September. The ongoing flare-up is the bloodiest since the early 1990s, when the region’s predominantly ethnic Armenian population fought a war against Azerbaijan with Armenia’s help.
Scores of civilians were reportedly killed on both sides. The belligerents also regularly report heavy damage inflicted on their opponents, though the claims are difficult to verify. Nagorno-Karabakh said on Sunday that 673 of its troops have been killed in the three weeks since the violence was reignited.
Baku considers its breakaway part to be occupied by Armenia and says it has to be liberated to put an end to the prolonged conflict. Despite supporting it militarily, Yerevan has never recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent state.
Earlier on Saturday, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and forces of the self-proclaimed republic of Nagorno-Karabakh have all agreed to stop fighting for “humanitarian reasons” after dozens of civilians have died in the latest flare-up over the disputed region.
The foreign ministries of the two countries announced the decision late on Saturday, simultaneously releasing similar statements.
It has also been acknowledged by the foreign ministry of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh republic, which said it was ready to stop hostilities.
The disputed region became the scene of a new conflict in late September, for which both Armenia and Azerbaijan blamed each other.
