Fighting continued on Wednesday September 30 between Azerbaijan and forces from the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, supported by Armenia.

The clashes, for which each side attributes responsibility to the other, have left dozens dead and hundreds injured since Sunday.

"According to the information reaching us, the fighting is hard, especially in the south, in the district of Fizuli, on the border between Azerbaijan and Iran", explains Régis Gente, special envoy of France 24 and RFI in Stepanakert, the "capital" of Nagorno-Karabakh.

"In the north of the region, in the most mountainous areas, the fighting raged and F-16s were seen in the sky", continues the journalist. 

According to Armenian media, three civilians were killed in the north and several others injured on Wednesday in the raid on the town of Martakert, in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia claims that the Azerbaijani army shelled the entire front line overnight and two enemy drones were shot down over Stepanakert.

In Stepanakert, there is no one in the streets 

In Stepanakert, the population lives in fear.

"There is hardly anyone in the streets. Schools and restaurants are closed, only a few essential stores are open such as food shops and pharmacies," says Régis Gente.

"People are rather holed up at home, some even live in their basements." 

Civilians fear the determination of Azerbaijan, which has promised to fight until the recapture of part of the so-called "occupied" territories.

On Wednesday Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev vowed to continue the struggle until the "full, unconditional and prompt withdrawal" of the Armenian forces.

If "Armenia accepts this condition, the fighting will stop, the blood will stop flowing," Aliyev said, according to images broadcast on television. 

Azerbaijan, which has reported 14 civilians killed on its side since Sunday, released images showing columns of smoke rising above the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, bombarded by its artillery.

Photographs taken in the city of Tartar, Azerbaijan, show residents trying to take shelter in ditches and buildings damaged by Armenian shells, according to locals.

This violence is unprecedented since the 1994 ceasefire in the separatist region of Azerbaijan, populated mostly by Armenians.

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