Showing posts with label Azerbaijan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Azerbaijan. Show all posts

Wednesday, 11 November 2020

On Armenia

 Protesters storm Armenian parliament and govt. headquarters


A brutally honest opinion on the war for Artsakh/Nagorno Karabakh


Kevork Almassian: I can’t remember a day in the modern history of Armenia that is worse than losing most parts of the independent region of Artsakh. The Armenian genocide was a great tragedy but losing Artsakh paves the way for another ethnic cleansing of the Armenians not only today but also in the near future. 


Armenia, the oldest Christian nation on earth, has been DEFEATED by (Muslim) Azerbaijan, which was backed by (Muslim) Turkey, in a war which began in September.  The Christian world . . .  stood by and did nothing.

This was truly a spectacle to watch from afar.  For weeks, Armenia shouted "We're winning."   Most recently though, it went like this:

Nov 7 - "We're winning"

Nov. 8 - "We're winning:

Nov. 9 -- We surrender.

In a little less than two months, Armenia's visually confirmed losses included:

  • 185 T-72 tanks
  • 90 armored fighting vehicles
  • 182 artillery pieces
  • 73 multiple rocket launchers
  • 26 SAMs (including 5x S-300 and 1x Tor)
  • 14 radars/jammers
  • 1 Su-25 fighter jet
  • 4 UAVs
  • 451 other Vehicles

Those numbers represent about forty percent (40%) of Armenia's pre-war assets; wiped out in WEEKS.

But what is truly striking about this is that Azerbaijan, which has next to ZERO military experience, defeated Armenia at all!

Of course, the role of Turkey played a big part in Armenia's defeat.   

Yet most striking of all, on the streets of victorious Azerbaijan, is being waved the flag of . . . Israel.

The country whose very essence, above all other aspects of its existence, is full of people who HATE Christ so viciously, their Talmud claims he is "In hell, boiling in hot semen"  seemed to be a massive (but sneakily quiet) force in the Azerbaijan victory over Christian Armenia. 


Russia Achieves Ceasefire In Nagorno-Karabakh

Moon of Alabama,

10 November, 2020


The war over Nagorno-Karabakh has ended for now. The Armenian Autonomous Oblast within Azerbaijan will continue to exits with Russian peacekeepers currently deploying to control its borders. Most of the Armenian occupied territories will be handed back to Azerbaijan. A Russian controlled land corridor will connect Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.


bigger

This is the outcome that Russia had long proposed during previous peace negotiations.

Armenia, under the western-installed Prime Minister Pashinyan, has barely managed to defend the ethnic enclave. Azerbaijan did not achieve its hoped for control over all of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan, with its wealth of gas and oil money, had been able to arm itself with hundreds of drones from Turkey and Israel that allowed it to achieve air superiority. The Armenian defenders were not trained to sufficiently camouflage themselves from air threats. Their old air defenses were not capable enough to detect and defend against small drones. They therefore lost hundreds of tanks and artillery pieces to suicide drone attacks.

Azerbaijan, and the contingent of 'moderate rebels' mercenaries it had rented from Turkey, failed to invade the mountainous core of Nagorno-Karabakh. They lost several thousand men, many more than the defending Armenians, while trying to do that.



Armenia had to agree to the ceasefire after Azerbaijan gained control of Shusha, a town on the 'Lachin corridor' supply road between Stapanakert in Nagorno-Karbakh and Armenia. Azerbaijan had to agree to the ceasefire after its forces yesterday shot down a Russian helicopter flying within Armenia. Any further move after that would have brought Russian forces into the war.

After the announcement of the ceasefire Armenians stormed government buildings in Yerevan. Prime Minister Pashinyan, who had neglected the military while trying to make nice with the 'west', is likely to get removed from his office.

With this outcome Russia has strengthened its position in the Caucasus while Turkey's attempt to insert itself into the region had only limited success.


Tuesday, 10 November 2020

Russian helicopter shot down over Armenia and a "painful" truce negotiated

 Azerbaijan Says It Shot Down Russian Helicopter "By Mistake" & Offers "Compensation"

Zero Hedge

9 November, 2020


Update: Azerbaijan has quickly owned up to the downing of the Russian military helicopter early Monday evening (local time). According to TASS citing official statements from Azerbaijan's foreign ministry:

Azerbaijan downed Russian helicopter by mistake, the republic's Foreign Ministry announced.

Baku is ready to compensate Moscow for the downed helicopter.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry expressed condolences over the death of the crew members of the downed Russian helicopter.

Though the incident is still being investigated, the Russian Ministry of Defense put out a statement indicating two of its pilots were killed. The MoD said a portable air-defense system was fired on the gunship from the ground near the village of Yeraskh close to the border with Azerbaijan.

Unconfirmed footage of the shoot down is circulating via Russian sources:

The incident comes after Azerbaijan's army has reportedly been making big gains on the ground in Nagorno-Karabakh over the past days.

* * *

There are breaking reports out of Interfax and Sputnik Armenia that a Russian helicopter has been shot down over Armenian territory related to intense fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh contested border region.

Interfax is reporting that two Russian pilots were killed in the fiery crash and at least one other injured. Rescue operations and an investigation are underway.

Russian Mi-24 gunships have reportedly been active over Armenian territory.

The largest public radio broadcaster of Armenia has aired the following early details:

A Russian helicopter has crashed in Armenia’s Ararat Province, the Ministry of Emergency Situations reports. The Ministry says it received an alarm from Ararat Regional Crisis Management Center at 6:39 pm today.

The helicopter crashed in the gorge between the villages of Yeraskh and Paruyr Syak. Fire and rescue brigades have been dispatched to the scene.

Armenian military news sites are circulating nighttime footage of what appears to be a helicopter going down, but the video is unverified.

Early reports also suggest the downing may have been from a MANPAD fired from the ground or possibly other type of portable air-defense system.

The Russian Ministry of Defense appears to have confirmed that it's lost one of its Mi-24 gunships over Armenian territory near the border.  "The Russian Mi-24 helicopter crashed in Armenia after being subjected to fire from the ground, the Russian Defense Ministry reports," according to Russia's RT.

Russia's military has thus far been monitoring the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, warning Azerbaijan not to extend the battle into Armenian sovereign territory.

While Moscow has a defense pact with Yerevan, it's thus far sought to not get involved. However this may immediately change things. Russia's Sputnik details further that the Russian gunship had been escorting a convoy which departed from Russia's lone military base on Armenian soil in Gyumri:

A Russian Mi-24 (NATO reporting name: Hind) military helicopter has crashed on the territory of Armenia near the village of Yeraskh after it was shot from the ground by unknown forces using a man-portable air-defence system (SAM), Russia’s Defence Ministry has stated. The crash was caused by a loss of control after a missile hit the aircraft, the ministry added.

The report notes further: "At the time of the time of the attack, the helicopter was escorting a convoy from Russia’s 102nd military base, which is located in Armenia, as it was moving past Yeraskh, near the border with Azerbaijan's Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic."


When was the last time America did ANY peacemaking?


Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has announced a peace deal with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, mediated by Russia. The content of the arrangement is “unbelievably painful” and “not a victory,” he said.

Pashinyan said he personally made the “very difficult” decision, as a result of the current military situation, believing it to be the best under the circumstances.

“I kneel before all our victims, I bow to all our soldiers, fighters, generals and volunteers, who have protected their homeland with their lives. They have saved Artsakh,” Pashinyan wrote in a Facebook post, using the Armenian term for Nagorno-Karabakh.

We fought till the end. And we will win. Artsakh stands.

https://www.rt.com/russia/506236-pashinyan-aliev-putin-karabakh/

Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed that Baku and Yerevan have struck a deal to end the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, and that Russian peacekeepers will be deployed along the line of contact.

The agreement will create conditions for a long-term settlement of the crisis in the interests of both peoples, Putin said shortly after midnight Moscow time on Tuesday (22:30 GMT Monday), confirming reports of the armistice Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan described as “painful” but necessary.

https://www.rt.com/russia/506238-putin-russian-peacekeepres-karabakh/


Crowds besieged the parliament and government offices in Armenia’s capital Yerevan after a peace deal with Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh was announced, involving Armenia surrendering some territory.

Gunshots could be heard in the streets of Yerevan as the angry protesters stormed the government building, looking for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in the early hours of Tuesday, after he announced the “painful” agreement to give up land to Azerbaijan in exchange for the end to bloodshed.



https://www.rt.com/russia/506241-armenia-karabakh-deal-protest/

Monday, 19 October 2020

News from Armenia - 16 October, 2020

Turkeys Planned Attack on 

Armenia


A VISIT TO A TOWN OF PEOPLE BURIED ALIVE: ‘ONLY MOSCOW CAN SAVE US CHRISTIANS’ 



Gian Micalessin, writing in il Giornale – Translated from the Italian by Tom Winter


Fort Russ,

16 October, 2020


Martuni, Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) – In Martuni, devastated by bombs, the inhabitants live hidden in catacombs. “Europe won’t help, but Russia is slow.”


Martuni. It was first to be assaulted. The first to weep over the victims of the Azeri missiles. The first city of Nagorno Karabakh to be abandoned, as its inhabitants fled en masse toward Armenia. It is the city of lost men. Barely 400, perhaps fewer, are left of its 6,000. and it’s hard to find even the shadow of these few.


Martuni is a ghost town, asleep and silent. The City Hall, a sad, circular building in grey marble, floats in a sea of broken glass and debris. Its windows and portals are gon. In 20 days missiles and bombs have transformed all into a carpet of ruins. Everywhere around you cannot find a stone, piece of asphalt, or a tree that doesn’t bear the marks of shrapnel and explosions. Here and there, sticking out of yards and streets, are the threatening silhouettes of unexploded shells. And of the survivors, hardly a shadow. . . . Martuni’s ghosts peep slowly and cautiously out of a trap door. They climb up a ladder, stick out their heads, make a sign to wait. They are suspicious, afraid, bewildered. Prisoners of this miniature Stalingrad glare at anyone who can reveal their lair, put their shelters at risk, make their safety even more precarious. They keep you hanging there between the desert and the abyss for more than half an hour, then one jumps out. His name is Armen. He has the pallor of one who has not seen the light of the sun for days, and the hollow eyes of nights of sleeplessness.


I’m coming with you. I’ll show you what they have done to this city!” He pops us in a hurry, practically runs to the piazza. 20 paces later I get why the hurrying: The first mortar shell comes in, whistling 200 meters away. Another, and a third one come in a bit farther off. “This was my father’s house, says Armen, pointing at a mess of debris. “The missile hit it not quite 11 hours after the ‘cease-fire’. My dad, a 79 year old man, who never hurt anyone, was blown to bits in his bed.” Still running, Arman takes us back to the basement of the town hall. In the ruins of the city we do not meet a soul. “The women – he says – went to Armenia with the children. We men have received weapons and we alternate between the front and the shelters in town. Those who, like my wife, did not leave — to be close to those on the front line — live underground.”


Now we are back at the town hall. two stories under the glimmering and yellow light of bare lightbulbs, we make out the faces of women and the aged. They sit in silence on cots lined against a wall, midst water bottles, sacks of bread, baskets of potatoes, pomegranates, and tomatoes. A woman keeps crying, another with her face in her hands. Only Veniera, Armen’s wife, manages a smile.


I don’t have kids — I could stay close to my husband and close to those who are fighting for their homeland. But I’m glad you came from Europe and Italy to tell about our despair”. I ask her if that’s enough. Veniera raises her eyes, smiles. “We are Christians like you, but from Europe we know we cannot expect much. If anyone will save us, it will be only Russia. This has always been the case in the past. I just wonder why it’s taking so long this time.”



Wednesday, 14 October 2020

Iran hit by fire from Azerbaijan troops

 IRAN FIRES ARTILLERY AND MISSILES AT AZERBAIJAN


Hal Turner,

13 October, 2020


After previously warning all sides in the Armenia - Azerbaijan conflict to stop ongoing stray shelling of Iranian territory, Iran was hit yet again by fire from Azerbaijan troops.  This time, Iran responded and fired heavy artillery and missile barrages at Azerbaijan just minutes ago.  

In response to what had become incessant shelling of Iranian territory, as well as because of repeated violation of the state borders of the Islamic Republic of Iran by Azerbaijani forces, the Iranian military launched a series of missile and artillery strikes on the territory of Azerbaijan. 

At the moment, it is known that several rocket and artillery strikes were carried out on the territory of Azerbaijan, and again after the Azerbaijani military tried to use a kamikaze drone, sending it across the border with Iran, the drone was shot down by Iranian air defense systems.


This marks an unprecedented and major escalation in the ongoing Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.

More details as info becomes available.  Updates to appear below . . . .


UPDATE 6:58 PM EDT --

It is now known that due to the attack against areas with Azerbaijani forces, the Azerbaijan offensive against positions of the NKR/Armenian forces was SEVERELY disrupted.

Although the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan does not report losses, this attack by Iran is already confirmed to have caused losses in equipment and and in manpower.


UPDATE 7:24 PM EDT --

Armenia has SHOT DOWN an Azerbaijan SU-25 fighter jet.


As seen in the image above, an "IGLA" surface-to-air weapon, fired from a MANPAD (shoulder-fired) is seen impacting the SU-25, causing it to come down.

Here is a file photo of the IGLA system:

Interview with Armenian President Armen Sarkissian


Tuesday, 6 October 2020

A dire warning to Russia

 A dire warning to Russia

The US Pentagon has a strategy to allow Russia's access 

to Iran to be destroyed in the war against Armenia prior to 

nuclear war against Russia




Hal Turner delivers his message in his usual more-than-direct method and gives a 

devastating picture of the war against Armenia, the oldest Christian country in the 

world.

He provides a strategic  analysis in which he posits that the Deep State neocons have a policy to allow for the destruction of Armenia by Azerbaijan and Turkey along with their jihadist proxies in order to cut Russia's links with its ally Iran. He says that Russia has a very short period to react strongly to this threat and come in behind their Christian brothers in Armenia.

While some of his knowledge of the history of the region shows something to be desired in its accuracy and his analysis may seem to be overblown I think that in the current situation this message would be ignored at peril and should be placed alongside everything else we know.

Whatever you do do not believe the mainstream media - even RT and Sputnik are not going to give you any clues.


Part one


He quotes an update at deagle.com which earlier predicted a decrease of the US population to 99 million.

Today I cannot get onto their website.


Part two




For background  I am reposting here a discussion I had with Margo a few months
ago about deagle.com 

The Azerbaijanis are using banned cluster bombs on Armenian forces

 Azerbaijani forces are using banned cluster bombs on their Armenia enemies as sides battle over disputed Nagorno-Karabakh, western journalists confirm

  • At least 45 civilians have died amid conflict over disputed Nagorno-Karabakh
  • Western journalists have reported seeing banned cluster bombs on city streets
  • Armenia and Azerbaijan have not signed a treaty banning the use of the munition

Daily Mail,

6 October, 2020


Azerbaijani forces are using banned cluster bombs on Armenian forces as they the countries battle, western journalists have confirmed.  

The two countries have reported at least 266 deaths since fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh territory broke out on September 27, including 45 civilians.

Yesterday there were reports that cluster bombs - which spread explosive bomblets when detonated - were being used.

Small un-detonated bomblets have been seen littering the streets of Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh's capital following heavy shelling by Azerbaijani forces, according to the Daily Telegraph. 

According to Nagorno-Karabakh officials, about 220 servicemen on their side have died in the clashes since then. The state-run Armenian Unified Infocentre said 21 civilians have been killed in the region and 82 others wounded.

Azerbaijani authorities have not given details about military casualties, but said 25 civilians had been killed and 127 wounded. 

Neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan have signed the International Convention on Cluster Munitions, which has 109 countries' signatures, including Britain's, agree to stop using the explosive device, since 2010.

Unexploded rockets line the streets of Stepanakert Nagorno-Karabakh's capital on Monday, following heavy shelling by Azerbaijani forces

Unexploded rockets line the streets of Stepanakert Nagorno-Karabakh's capital on Monday, following heavy shelling by Azerbaijani forces

Buildings including a local school have been damaged, with their windows blown out, in Stepanakert, while western journalists in the city have reported seeing cluster bomblets on the streets of Nagorno-Karabakh's capital

Buildings including a local school have been damaged, with their windows blown out, in Stepanakert, while western journalists in the city have reported seeing cluster bomblets on the streets of Nagorno-Karabakh's capital

More than 100 countries have banned the use of cluster bombs, which were used in the Vietnam War (above),  but modern models have reportedly been seen on the streets of Stepanakert, amid escalating fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia

More than 100 countries have banned the use of cluster bombs, which were used in the Vietnam War (above),  but modern models have reportedly been seen on the streets of Stepanakert, amid escalating fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia

Speaking about the munitions, which are produced by Azerbaijani weapon suppliers  Israel and Turkey, Tim Ripley, a writer and defence analyst for Jane's Defence Weekly, told the Daily Telegraph: 'We can’t be certain why these were in use or what exactly they were being aimed at, but any kind of cluster munition being used in an urban area opens the possibility of civilians being inadvertently killed or injured.' 

Separatist forces in Karabakh - an ethnic Armenian enclave that broke away from Azerbaijan in the 1990s - reported firefights along the frontline on Monday with the regional capital Stepanakert under heavy artillery fire.

Azerbaijan's defence ministry said Armenian forces were shelling three of its towns, after hitting the country's second-largest city Ganja on Sunday. 

The clashes broke out on September 27, re-igniting a decades-old conflict between the ex-Soviet neighbours over Karabakh and threatening to draw in regional powers like Russia and Turkey.

Neither side has shown any sign of backing down, ignoring international calls for a ceasefire and a return to long-stalled negotiations on the region.

Stepanakert, a city of some 50,000 in the heart of the mountainous region, has been under steady artillery fire since Friday, with residents cramming in to underground shelters and many leaving.

An unexploded BM-30 Smerch rocket by the Mingachevir Hydro Power Station in Azerbaijan on Monday

An unexploded BM-30 Smerch rocket by the Mingachevir Hydro Power Station in Azerbaijan on Monday

Aftermath of recent shelling during the ongoing fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, in the disputed region's main city of Stepanakert on Sunday

Aftermath of recent shelling during the ongoing fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, in the disputed region's main city of Stepanakert on Sunday

Debris fills the streets of the ethnically-Armenian city of Stepanakert after shelling on Sunday

Debris fills the streets of the ethnically-Armenian city of Stepanakert after shelling on Sunday

An unexploded BM-30 Smerch rocket by the Mingachevir Hydro Power Station on Monday

An unexploded BM-30 Smerch rocket by the Mingachevir Hydro Power Station on Monday

A shelled building burns in the separatist city of Stepanakert on Sunday night

A shelled building burns in the separatist city of Stepanakert on Sunday night

The separatists' foreign ministry said Monday that shelling of Stepanakert had resumed at 6:30 am (0230 GMT), with four shells hitting the city.

It released video footage of repeated bursts of heavy shelling and of debris from seriously damaged blocks of flats, claiming Azerbaijan had used cluster munitions.

Azerbaijan said Armenian forces were shelling the towns of Beylagan, Barda, and Terter. 

A woman looks through a blown out window after the city of Stepanakert was bombarded on Sunday

A woman looks through a blown out window after the city of Stepanakert was bombarded on Sunday

A view shows aftermath of recent shelling during the ongoing fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, in the disputed region's main city of Stepanakert on October 4, 2020

A view shows aftermath of recent shelling during the ongoing fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, in the disputed region's main city of Stepanakert on October 4, 2020

A view shows aftermath of recent shelling during the ongoing fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, in the disputed region's main city of Stepanakert on October 4, 2020

A view shows aftermath of recent shelling during the ongoing fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, in the disputed region's main city of Stepanakert on October 4, 2020

Tanks which Azerbaijani army officials said were seized during the ongoing fighting with Armenia over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, in the town of Beylagan on October 5, 2020.

Tanks which Azerbaijani army officials said were seized during the ongoing fighting with Armenia over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, in the town of Beylagan on October 5, 2020.

Fire burns in a residential area after shelling by Azerbaijan's artillery during a military conflict in self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Stepanakert, Azerbaijan, today

Buildings are seen in ruin and disrepair after recent shelling in Stepanakert, today

Buildings are seen in ruin and disrepair after recent shelling in Stepanakert, today

 A man walks through the rubble past an overturned and burnt-out car in Stepanakert, today

The International Committee of the Red Cross on Sunday condemned the reports of 'indiscriminate shelling and other alleged unlawful attacks using explosive weaponry in cities, towns and other populated areas'.  

Armenia and Azerbaijan have resisted international calls for a ceasefire and clashes have intensified in recent days, with both sides claiming victories on the front and saying they are inflicting heavy losses. 

In a fiery address to the nation, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev set conditions for a halt to the fighting that would be near-impossible for Armenia to accept.

He said that Armenian forces 'must leave our territories, not in words but in deeds' and provide a timetable for a full withdrawal.

Yerevan must also recognise the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, apologise to the Azerbaijani people and admit that the region is not part of Armenia, Aliyev said. 

An injured woman brought to hospital in Ganja, Azerbaijan, following shelling on the city

An injured woman brought to hospital in Ganja, Azerbaijan, following shelling on the city

People shelter in the basement of the main church of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region's main city of Stepanakert

People shelter in the basement of the main church of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region's main city of Stepanakert

Families take cover from the shelling in a church in Stepanakert on Sunday as the conflict continues

Families take cover from the shelling in a church in Stepanakert on Sunday as the conflict continues

President Ilham Aliyev said: 'Nagorno-Karabakh is our land. We have to go back there and we are doing it now. 

'This is the end. We showed them who we are. We are chasing them like dogs.'

Sirens were sounding and explosions were heard at regular intervals in Stepanakert, where residents were taking shelter including several families in the basement of the city's Holy Mother of God Cathedral.

Armenia's foreign ministry said Stepanakert and other towns had been hit, accusing Azerbaijani forces of 'the deliberate targeting of the civilian population'.

There were reports of dead and wounded civilians in Stepanakert and the historic town of Shusha.

Azerbaijan said Ganja was under shell fire, including from areas outside of Karabakh in Armenian territory, with at least one civilian killed.

Karabakh's separatist forces said they had targeted and destroyed an airbase in Ganja, but Baku denied this as a 'provocation'.

Azerbaijan's ally Turkey accused Armenia of 'targeting civilians' in Ganja and reiterated support for its fellow Turkic and Muslim country as 'one nation, two states'.

Karabakh leader Arayik Harutyunyan warned that it would now consider 'military facilities in Azerbaijan's big cities' as legitimate targets.

'I call on the residents of these cities to immediately leave,' Harutyunyan said in a post on Facebook.

Azerbaijani officials claimed Sunday that Harutyunyan had been seriously wounded while in a bunker hit by bombing, but his office denied this. 

Azerbaijan claims to have taken control of a string of settlements in recent days as well as a strategically important plateau.

Today Aliyev said his forces had retaken the town of Jabrayil, part of an area outside Karabakh seized by the separatists in the 1990s as a buffer zone, hailing it as an important victory. Armenia denied the claim.

Authorities in both countries have reported nearly 250 dead since the fighting began, including almost 40 civilians.

Armenian separatist forces have reported more than 200 dead - including 51 on Saturday - while Azerbaijan has not released any figures on its military casualties.

Azerbaijan said that two civilians had been killed in shelling today on the southern town of Beylagan, with residents seen picking through the rubble of destroyed homes.

'I was baking bread when I heard explosions, I opened the door and saw that bombs were falling right into the yard,' said one woman, showing journalists the blown-out windows and partially collapsed roof of her home. 

In Armenia's majority-Christian capital Yerevan, residents gathered in churches for services Sunday to pray and light candles.

'I came to ask God for peace, for our country and our soldiers,' Aytsemik Melikyan told AFP outside the Saint Sarkis Church.

Russia, the United States and France - who co-chair a mediation group that has failed to bring about a political resolution to the conflict - have called for an immediate halt to the fighting. 

A man sweeps a street after a shelling attack in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh, today

A man sweeps a street after a shelling attack in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh, today

A man shows fragments of the projectile which he found at destroyed houses following a shelling in Terter, Azerbaijan, today

A man shows fragments of the projectile which he found at destroyed houses following a shelling in Terter, Azerbaijan, today

Thick black smoke rises from the aftermath of recent shelling in the disputed region's main city of Stepanakert

Thick black smoke rises from the aftermath of recent shelling in the disputed region's main city of Stepanakert

People help an injured man in a bomb shelter during shelling by Azerbaijan's artillery during a military conflict in Stepanakert

People help an injured man in a bomb shelter during shelling by Azerbaijan's artillery during a military conflict in Stepanakert

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed concern over 'the increase of casualties' among civilians in a call with his Armenian counterpart on Sunday.

Armenia has said it is 'ready to engage' with mediators but Azerbaijan - which considers Karabakh under Armenian occupation - says Armenian forces must fully withdraw before a ceasefire can be brokered.

Karabakh's declaration of independence from Azerbaijan during the collapse of the Soviet Union sparked a war in the early 1990s that claimed 30,000 lives.

Talks to resolve the conflict have made little progress since a 1994 ceasefire agreement. 

Local residents hide in a bomb shelter in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh as fighting escalates

Local residents hide in a bomb shelter in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh as fighting escalates


Elderly woman carried from her home in Stepankert amid bombing
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