Paris, Washington and Moscow denounce attacks in Nagorno-Karabakh
An unexploded rocket in a residential area of Stepanakert, the capital of the independence enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, October 5, 2020. David Ghahramanyan / NKR InfoCenter PAN Photo via AP
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France, Russia and the United States, co-chairman of the Minsk group, denounced on Monday the attacks in Nagorno-Karabakh apparently targeting civilians, considering that they constituted an "unacceptable threat to the stability of the region" .
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As the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh threatens to turn into
open war between Armenia and Azerbaijan
, the Minsk group is raising its tone.
In a statement, the foreign ministers of the three countries which co-chair him "
underline without any reservation that the recent attacks which would have targeted civilian installations
", both in the conflict zone and elsewhere in Armenia and Azerbaijan according to them, and "
The disproportionate nature of such attacks constitutes an unacceptable threat to the stability of the region
".
Jean-Yves Le Drian, Mike Pompeo and Sergei Lavrov "
condemn with the utmost firmness the unprecedented and dangerous escalation of violence in and outside the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone
".
They call again for an "
immediate and unconditional ceasefire
" and urge Baku and Yerevan to "
commit now to resume the settlement process based on the applicable fundamental principles and international texts. relevant issues well known to both parties
”.
Moreover, during a telephone conversation with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pachinian, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for an end to the fighting in this independence enclave of Azerbaijan.
New bombardments in urban areas
On the ninth day of the resumption of hostilities, the Armenian separatist forces of Nagorno-Karabakh, supported by Yerevan, and the Azerbaijani army continued their clashes relentlessly on Monday.
This day was notably marked by bombings in urban areas which raised fears of new civilian victims.
New "intensive rocket fire" targeted the separatist capital, Stepanakert, populated by 50,000 inhabitants.
As the day before, Azerbaijan also said to have seen civilian areas targeted by Armenian fire, mainly rockets, in particular Gandja, the second city of the country 60 km from the contact line, or Beylagan.
On the Armenian and Azerbaijani side, the journalists of Agence France-Presse saw houses ripped open.
According to official reports, since the resumption of the conflict on September 27, 19 Armenian and 44 Azerbaijani civilians have been killed, including 5 and 11 respectively since Sunday.
The military toll remains very partial, Azerbaijan announcing no loss among its soldiers.
Karabakh reports 219 dead.
Both sides say they have killed 2,000 to 3,000 enemy soldiers and blame themselves for the escalation.
The Minsk group has been in charge of mediation in the Nagorno-Karabakh case since 1992.
► To read also: Nagorno-Karabakh, the unrecognized powder keg of the Caucasus
(
With
AFP)
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