NagornoKarabakh fighting hitting civilians hard

Clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia forces take toll

YEREVAN, Armenia — The intense shelling in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh is taking its toll on the civilian population as fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces showed no signs of abating Wednesday, with one resident hunkered down in a shelter exclaiming “How can one stand it? How long will it last?”

Clashes between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces in the region since Sept. 27 have killed hundreds in the worst escalation of hostilities since 1994 when a truce ended a war that raged for several years. Nagorno-Karabakh lies inside Azerbaijan, but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia for more than a quarter-century.

Stepanakert, the territory’s capital, has been under intense artillery barrage in recent days. Flashes of explosions could be seen from the city center on Tuesday night.

Local residents have been gathering in shelters to escape the violence, distraught over continued strikes on the city.

“Bombing … buildings and houses are destroyed. We are so afraid of it. How can one stand it? How long will it last?” Sida, one fearful resident who stayed in a shelter on Tuesday night, told the Associated Press without providing her full name.

Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Ovannisian said Wednesday that Stepanakert was being targeted once again by Azerbaijan along with other settlements. Nagorno-Karabakh officials said that civilian infrastructure and a few residential buildings in Stepanakert have been hit with missiles and drones.

Azerbaijan has rejected claims of targeting civilian infrastructure in Stepanakert. Hikmet Hajiyev, an Azerbaijani presidential aide, said in an interview earlier this week that Azerbaijani forces targeted only military objects in and around Stepanakert, acknowledging, however, that “some collateral damage” was possible.