Flare-up continues between Armenia, Azerbaijan

DPA,28TH SEPTEMBER, 2020 - Fighting in the biggest flare-up in years between Armenia and neighbouring Azerbaijan continued on Monday, with shelling reported in the disputed Nagornokarabakh region.

The region, internationally recognized as part of predominantly Muslim Azerbaijan, has been controlled by Christian Armenian separatists for decades, with a fragile peace treaty in place since the 1990s.

Azerbaijan’s military said on Monday that it had “liberated” several strategically important areas in the mountainous Nagornokarabakh region.

“Several advantageous high grounds around the village of Talysh were cleared of the occupying forces, and the enemy suffered heavy losses,” Azerbaijan’s Defence Ministry said in a statement.

The flare-up began at the weekend. At least 16 people have been reported killed and more than 100 wounded. Both sides have traded blame for the escalation.

It is the bloodiest fighting in years between the former Soviet republics, which fought a war over the disputed region in the late 1980s and early 1990s as they transitioned into independent countries amid the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Impoverished Armenia has closely relied on backing by Russia, whose government largely adheres to Christianity.