Armenia-Azerbaijan clashes
- Heavy fighting between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces broke out in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region on Sunday.
- Armenia, Azerbaijan and Armenian-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh all declared martial law. Azerbaijan ordered its military to mobilise.
- Both sides blamed each other for the worst escalation since 2016, amid reports of casualties.
16:52 GMT – Azerbaijan village calls for help
The residents of a village in an area of western Azerbaijan under attack by Armenia has asked for international help to end their suffering.
Israil Haciyev, who lives in the village of Kapanli in the city of Tartar, said they are frequently fired upon by Armenia with heavy weapons.
“Women, the elderly, children, all are leaving their homes,” he told Anadolu Agency.
“Let the whole world hear us … such torment cannot be tolerated,” said Ibrahim Zamin, another local. “What is the world doing?”
Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of initiating deadly clashes that claimed at least 23 lives.
Sixteen Armenian separatist fighters were killed and more than 100 wounded in fighting, rebel officials said.
Both sides also reported casualties including at least one Armenian woman and child.
Baku said that an Azerbaijani family of five were killed in shelling launched by Armenian separatists.
16:25 GMT – Top Turkish, Russian diplomats discuss
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Russian counterpart have spoken over the phone.Cavusoglu and Sergey Lavrov discussed Armenia’s aggression against Azerbaijan, said Turkish diplomatic sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
According to a Russian Foreign Ministry statement: “The need for an early cease-fire and stabilisation of the situation on the line of contact [between the countries] was stressed. Condolences were expressed to the families and friends of the victims.”
Separately, Cavusoglu spoke with Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov on the phone regarding the recent clashes.
16:13 GMT – Turkey criticises Armenia, supports Baku
Turkey has sharply criticised Armenia, saying Yerevan was an obstacle to peace and vowing to continue its support for Azerbaijan.
In a statement on Twitter following a phone call with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called on Armenian people to stand against leaders who he said were “dragging them to catastrophe”, adding that Ankara’s solidarity with Baku would “increasingly continue”.
“Armenia, which has added another to its attacks against Azerbaijan, has shown once again that it is the biggest threat to peace in the region,” Erdogan said, and added that international reaction to the conflict had been insufficient.
Turkey calls on “the entire world to stand with Azerbaijan in their battle against invasion and cruelty,” Erdogan said.
