Nagorno-Karabakh: Armenia and Azerbaijan accuse each other of violating new truce
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) and Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan in Washington, October 23, 2020. REUTERS / Hannah McKay
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2 min
Armenia and Azerbaijan concluded a ceasefire in Washington on Sunday October 25, but the two protagonists of the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh were already accusing each other on Monday morning of having violated it.
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In the streets of Stepanakert, little activity on this sunny morning.
T
he
inhabitants
of the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh welcomed the announcement of a new truce with skepticism, report our special envoys
Richard Riffonneau
and
Anastasia Becchio
.
Despite the failure of previous ceasefires, Valéry, who fills water in buckets to water his doves who peck seeds behind his garage, remains optimistic.
“
This time I would like to believe it.
We have all suffered so much that we want to believe it.
We need a ceasefire because we have lost a lot of friends and relatives, he
explains.
My grandson and my son are on the front lines;
I spoke to them on the phone yesterday but they don't say anything about the truce.
They don't even tell me where they are.
It is secret defense.
"
►Also listen: Nagorno-Karabakh: a conflict with many regional ramifications
But it did not take long for the doubts of the inhabitants to be confirmed.
This new humanitarian truce, obtained after negotiations in Washington, was to take effect this Monday morning at 8 a.m. (4 a.m. UT), but it has obviously fizzled out.
The two camps each denounced this Monday morning a “
gross violation
” of the truce by the opposing party.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry accused Armenian forces of bombing the town of Terter and surrounding villages, while the Armenian Defense Ministry denounced enemy artillery fire at its positions in various parts of the front.
Valéry looks at his doves and sighs: "
I hope they will end up bringing us peace.
"
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