The ongoing conflict over the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region – due to the indirect involvement of many powers – may turn into a long-lasting war of destruction. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence has dismissed accusations that the army was attacking civilians. Azeris confirmed the deaths of at least twenty-four civilians.

In a statement released last Sunday, the International Committee of the Red Cross condemned the violence. “Every possible measure must be taken to protect and spare the civilian population and civil infrastructure such as hospitals, schools and markets. The water supply of the civilian population must also be protected. These are obligations under international humanitarian law,” Martin Schüepp, ICRC Eurasia Regional Director in Geneva, emphasised in a statement.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced on Saturday that his forces had captured the strategic city of Madagiz and had taken several villages.

According to the Ministry of Defence of Armenia, separatist forces in Nagorno-Karabakh were repelling a large attack by Azerbaijan, and spokesman Shushan Stepanian stated that intense fighting continued “on the entire front line”. Armenian forces were instructed to shoot down three enemy planes. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense, however, denies that it has lost any aircraft.

A spokesman for the President of Nagorno-Karabakh reported on Facebook last Saturday that that about 3,000 Azerbaijani soldiers had died in fierce fighting. A spokesman for the Armenian Ministry of Defense, Artsrun Ovannisian, argued that there were about 2,300 casualties on the opposite side, including about four hundred the previous day. However, this data is difficult to verify.

Source: tvn24.pl