Fierce battles continue in the disputed Karabakh region between Armenia and Azerbaijan, at a time when more than a thousand people have been reported dead since the outbreak of fighting 6 weeks ago.

The Armenian government media center said that at least 3 people were killed after intense Azerbaijani bombing that lasted for hours last night on the city of Stepanakert, capital of Karabakh region, while Azerbaijan denied bombing civilian areas.

According to the Armenian Media Center, the intense Azerbaijani bombing killed 3 civilians and set fire to several homes in the provincial capital.

The statement issued by the center said that the shelling was carried out with rockets, and that paramedics are present at the sites that were targeted to assess the damage caused by it, expecting more victims under the rubble.

The emergency and rescue service in Karabakh province said that the shelling targeted residential buildings and infrastructure in Stepanakert.

She added that the three dead were in one house.

She added that the city of Shushi, which is located 15 km to the south and is the second largest city in the region, was also bombed at night, and many houses caught fire.

For its part, a spokeswoman for the Armenian Defense Ministry said that an Azerbaijani army drone was shot down this morning over the south of Karabakh.

The ministry spokeswoman added that the Azerbaijani bombing of the provincial capital has continued since late yesterday evening.

Misinformation


But the Ministry of Defense in Azerbaijan described the allegations that it bombed civilian areas as "misinformation."

Reuters reported that the battle is raging between the two sides for control of the main residential communities.

It quoted two observers as saying that the fighting appears to be expanding in the depths of the region with the escalation of Azerbaijani forces attacks on its two largest cities.

So far, at least a thousand people have been killed, and perhaps many more, during the nearly 6 weeks of fighting in Nagorno Karabakh and surrounding areas, according to Reuters.

The region is part of Azerbaijan, as recognized by the international community, but it is inhabited and controlled by ethnic Armenians.