Fighting erupts between Azerbaijan and Armenia over disputed Nagorny Karabakh region

Armenia’s Prime Minister yesterday/SUN called on citizens to ‘defend our sacred homeland’ after heavy fighting with Azerbaijan brought the arch enemies to the brink of all-out war. The clashes erupted on Sunday morning in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabkh, an ethnically Armenian zone within the official borders of Azerbaijan but outside of its control. Tensions have been rising for months over the disputed territory, which was seized by Armenian separatists in 1991 in one of the bloodiest wars that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union. Both sides, former members of the Soviet bloc, yesterday denied being the aggressor, while reporting military and civilian casualties that included at least one child. Russia has a military base in Armenia and a fully-fledged war could draw it into conflict with Turkey, the other key power in the region, which backs Azerbaijan. In an attempt to prevent a major conflagration, Moscow called for a ceasefire and negotiations, along with France, Germany and the EU. Ankara blamed Armenia for "hostility that will send the region into fire" and offered Baku its full support.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3kVqG2C