Shelling hits Armenian cathedral in Karabakh

S HUSH AA F P ,8 OCT, 2020 - Armenia accused Azerbaijan on Thursday of shelling a historic cathedral in Nagorno-karabakh ahead of the first meeting of international mediators seeking to halt escalating fighting over the disputed region.

Expectations for any major breakthrough from the talks in Geneva were low and no statements were expected from the negotiations being held behind closed doors and without Armenian participation.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have for two weeks been locked in bitter fighting over Nagorno-karabakh, an Azerbaijani region controlled by Armenians who declared an unrecognised breakaway state and emerged victorious from a war in the wake of the fall of the USSR.

The current fighting, which has left hundreds dead including civilians, is the worst since a 1994 ceasefire with both sides doubling down on entrenched positions over who should control the region.