ARMENIAN, AZERBAIJANI FORCES IGNORE CEASEFIRE PLEA
TERTER, AZERBAIJAN— Armenian and Azerbaijani forces engaged in new fighting Tuesday over the Nagorno-karabakh region despite pleas to observe a ceasefire, as the Red Cross warned hundreds of thousands were already affected by the conflict.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the sides to observe a ceasefire agreed only four days ago in Moscow, while the group of powers seeking a solution to the conflict warned of “catastrophic consequences” unless immediate steps were taken.
More than two weeks of fighting between the Caucasus rivals has left almost 600 dead, including 73 civilians, according to a tally based on partial tolls from both sides.
The Nagorno-karabakh region of Azerbaijan, overwhelmingly populated by Armenians, has been controlled by Armenians since a 1990s war that erupted as the Soviet Union fell.
But Azerbaijan has never hidden its desire to win back control and no state has ever recognized Nagorno-karabakh’s declaration of independence.
The fighting has been the most intense since a 1994 ceasefire ended the initial post-soviet war. Even a humanitarian truce to allow exchanges of prisoners and dead has been too much to implement.
“Civilians are dying or suffering life-changing injuries,” said International Committee of the Red Cross Eurasia regional director Martin Schuepp in a statement.
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He said hundreds of thousands of people across the region were affected, with healthcare services coming under strain and even attacked in some cases.
The daily fighting has made a mockery of the ceasefire agreed between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in the early hours of Saturday in Moscow after 11 hours of talks.
“The United States calls on Azerbaijan and Armenia to implement their commitments to a ceasefire as agreed and cease targeting civilian areas,” Pompeo, whose administration has faced accusations of a lack of engagement in ending the fighting, wrote on Twitter.