Al Jazeera and News agencies :
Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of new offensive, while Azeri defence ministry says it destroyed Armenian military equipment.
Armenian and Azerbaijani forces have been engaged in intense fighting over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region on Saturday, scuttling diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire to end the latest conflict that has killed hundreds.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said its troops had destroyed a large amount of military equipment belonging to the Armenian military.
“During the present day, the troops of the Azerbaijani army, successfully advancing in the intended directions, took possession of new strongholds and carried out a clean-up of the territory from the enemy,” the ministry said on early Saturday.
Nagorno-Karabakh is controlled by ethnic Armenians backed by Armenia and has been the subject of several United Nations resolutions calling for an end to the occupation of Azeri lands.
The leader of the breakaway province said he was heading to the front and that the “final battle” for the region had begun, seven days after new fighting erupted in the decades-old dispute.
World powers have been calling for a ceasefire between Azerbaijan and Armenia since Sunday, when fighting over the region, which is officially part of Azerbaijan, first re-erupted.
On Friday, Armenia’s foreign ministry said it was prepared to work with international mediators France, Russia and the United States to reach a ceasefire with Azerbaijan.
However, Turkey’s foreign minister said that for Azerbaijan to agree to a ceasefire, Armenia must withdraw its forces.
Armenian sources have put the death toll from fighting in the region, where about 145,000 people live, at more than 200, while Azerbaijan most recently said that 19 civilians had been killed and 60 injured.
Armenia said Azerbaijan brought more troops into the conflict area, which the government in Baku has not confirmed.
Azerbaijan and Armenia previously fought a war over Nagorno-Karabakh in the late 1980s and early 1990s as they transitioned into independent countries amid the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The war, which ended with a fragile peace treaty in 1994, is estimated to have killed tens of thousands of people, including more than a thousand civilians.
Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of new offensive, while Azeri defence ministry says it destroyed Armenian military equipment.
Armenian and Azerbaijani forces have been engaged in intense fighting over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region on Saturday, scuttling diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire to end the latest conflict that has killed hundreds.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said its troops had destroyed a large amount of military equipment belonging to the Armenian military.
“During the present day, the troops of the Azerbaijani army, successfully advancing in the intended directions, took possession of new strongholds and carried out a clean-up of the territory from the enemy,” the ministry said on early Saturday.
Nagorno-Karabakh is controlled by ethnic Armenians backed by Armenia and has been the subject of several United Nations resolutions calling for an end to the occupation of Azeri lands.
The leader of the breakaway province said he was heading to the front and that the “final battle” for the region had begun, seven days after new fighting erupted in the decades-old dispute.
World powers have been calling for a ceasefire between Azerbaijan and Armenia since Sunday, when fighting over the region, which is officially part of Azerbaijan, first re-erupted.
On Friday, Armenia’s foreign ministry said it was prepared to work with international mediators France, Russia and the United States to reach a ceasefire with Azerbaijan.
However, Turkey’s foreign minister said that for Azerbaijan to agree to a ceasefire, Armenia must withdraw its forces.
Armenian sources have put the death toll from fighting in the region, where about 145,000 people live, at more than 200, while Azerbaijan most recently said that 19 civilians had been killed and 60 injured.
Armenia said Azerbaijan brought more troops into the conflict area, which the government in Baku has not confirmed.
Azerbaijan and Armenia previously fought a war over Nagorno-Karabakh in the late 1980s and early 1990s as they transitioned into independent countries amid the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The war, which ended with a fragile peace treaty in 1994, is estimated to have killed tens of thousands of people, including more than a thousand civilians.
