At least 16 military personnel and several civilians have been killed and 100 injured after fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan broke out around the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
It’s been declared the biggest flare-up in violence between the two former Soviet republics since 2016, with both sides blaming each other for reigniting a three-decade-old territorial dispute over the separatist region.
Armenia accused Azerbaijan of launching an air and artillery attack on the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
In response, Armenia declared martial law and mobilised its male population. Troops shot down two military helicopters and destroyed three tanks, its defence ministry said.
It said the shelling from Azerbaijani forces had killed a woman and a child.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan said its forces were retaliating against Armenian shelling, which reportedly injured 19 civilians and claimed five members of one family.
According to authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh, which is inside Azerbaijan but run by ethnic Armenians, the fighting left 16 of its servicemen dead and more than 100 wounded.
With the violence still developing, Greece’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement last night urging Armenia and Azerbaijan to immediately cease military operations.
“We have been monitoring with great concern the escalating tension in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which has resulted in civilian casualties,” the statement reads.
“We call on all sides to exercise restraint, cease hostilities immediately and return to the negotiation table in the context of the Minsk Group.
“The peaceful resolution of disputes within the context of international law is the only path to regional security and stability.”
