But Armenia's defence ministry almost immediately rejected the ceasefire, describing the Azeri defence ministry's statement as "an information trap".
"This statement does not mean the halt of military action," the defence minister's press secretary, Artsrun Hovhannisyan, said on Facebook.
Nagorno-Karabakh has been under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces and the Armenian military since a war ended in 1994.
- The Armenia Defence Ministry said Azerbaijani troops started an offensive with tanks and artillery on Saturday. Azerbaijan denied those allegations, saying its soldiers were reacting to heavy attacks from the Armenian side.
Armenia said 18 of its forces were killed and Azerbaijan reported it had 12 dead.
Analysts say the conflict is fuelled by long-simmering tensions in the region between Christian Armenians and mostly Muslim Azeris.
- Al Jazeera's Rory Challands, reporting from Moscow, said the dispute between the two nations had the potential to spiral into a serious regional conflict.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
3/4/16
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Nagorno-Karabakh clashes rumble despite ceasefire ....
ReplyDeleteClashes between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces rumbled for a second day, despite Baku announcing a ceasefire after the worst outbreak of violence in decades over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region sparked international pressure to stop fighting.
Azerbaijan said on Sunday it had decided to "unilaterally cease hostilities" and pledged to "reinforce" several strategic positions it claimed to have captured inside the Armenian-controlled territory.
The Armenia-backed authorities in Karabakh - which claims independence but is heavily backed by Yerevan - said they were willing to discuss a ceasefire but only if it saw them regain their territory.
Both sides accused each other of continuing to fire across the volatile frontline that has divided them since a war that saw Armenian separatists seize the region from Azerbaijan ended with an inconclusive truce in 1994.
"Armenia has violated all the norms of international law. We won't abandon our principal position. But at the same time we will observe the ceasefire and after that we will try to solve the conflict peacefully," President Ilham Aliyev said at a security council meeting broadcast by Azeri state TV.............http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/04/nagorno-karabakh-clashes-rumble-ceasefire-160403163515984.html