Azerbaijan says civilians killed by Armenia in Ganja
Twelve civilians have been killed and more than 40 people injured in an early-hours missile attack on Azerbaijan’s second-biggest city, Ganja, the Azerbaijani prosecutor general’s office said.
A missile raid levelIed a row of homes in Azerbaijan’s second city of Ganja, killing and badly injuring people in their sleep in a sharp escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The Armenian defence ministry denied the claim and accused Baku of continuing to shell populated areas inside Nagorno-Karabakh, including Stepanakert, the region’s biggest city.
Here are the latest updates on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict:
Saturday, October 17
08:00 GMT – Erdogan tells Trudeau suspension of drone exports is against alliance spirit
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a phone call that Canada’s suspension of the export of some drone technology was not in line with the spirit of alliance, Erdogan’s office said.
Canada suspended the export of some drone technology to Turkey earlier this month as it probes allegations the equipment was used by Azeri forces involved in fighting with Armenia.
Turkey and Canada are both members of NATO.
Following Canada’s announcement, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry had said the suspension showed a double standard.
Turkey’s military exports to its ally Azerbaijan have risen six-fold this year, with sales of drones and other military equipment rising to $77m last month alone before fighting broke out over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, according to exports data.
07:00 GMT – Azeri human rights official accuses Armenia of ‘provoking’ Azerbaijan
Ahmad Shahidov, the head of Azerbaijan Institute for Democracy and Human Rights, told Al Jazeera his country was being provoked by Armenia to respond to military attacks.
“Azerbaijan liberated several regions from under Armenian occupation. That’s why the Armenian army moved back to Armenia and fired from its territory to provoke Azerbaijan to destroy these fire points,” he said.
International law demands the withdrawal of the external troops from Nagorno-Karabakh, he added.
06:45 GMT – Scud missile fired on Ganja, Al Jazeera correspondent says
The overnight attack on Ganja was caused by a Scud missile, said Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu.
“What we have been hearing from [Azeri] officials is that this is a Scud missile that was fired from Armenian territory,” she said, speaking from the capital Baku.
Koseoglu said the general prosecutor of Azerbaijan and the minister of state of emergency are in the area trying to understand the impact of this explosion, and to hear from the locals who witnessed the attack.
