BAKU, Azerbaijan — A cease-fire largely held Wednesday around Nagorno-Karabakh after an outburst of fighting raised fears of a new all-out war between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces. Russia sought to assuage tensions by reaching out to both sides.
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said its troops have been observing a cease-fire in the region since midday Tuesday following three days of intense battles involving heavy artillery and rockets. The ministry accused Armenian forces of breaking the truce on several occasions Wednesday by firing mortars at Azerbaijani positions, adding that Azerbaijani forces had not returned fire.
Nagorno-Karabakh military spokesman Senor Asratyan insisted its forces have strictly respected the cease-fire, which was agreed upon by the top military officers of Azerbaijan and Armenia, who met in Moscow on Tuesday.
Fighting that erupted over the weekend killed at least 63 people and marked the worst violence since a separatist war ended in 1994 and left Nagorno-Karabakh, officially a part of Azerbaijan, under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces and the Armenian military. Armenian forces also occupy several areas outside the Karabakh region.
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said 31 of its soldiers have been killed since Saturday; Karabakh acknowledged the loss of 29 and said 101 have been wounded. Each party put enemy losses in the hundreds, rival claims that couldn’t be independently verified.
Mustagim Mammadov, a local official in Azerbaijan’s Terter region, said three civilians were killed and six wounded. He said Armenian forces fired automatic weapons overnight at front-line villages but there was no fighting during the day Wednesday. Speaking from the village of Gapanli, he said life was getting back to normal as a local school reopened.
The fighting had raised fears of a possible escalation in hostilities, with Turkey strongly backing Azerbaijan and Russia obliged to protect Armenia by a mutual security pact.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had separate phone calls Tuesday with the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia, urging them to honor the cease-fire. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in Baku with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev Wednesday, offering to help ensure that the truce will last.
Associated Press
