Azerbaijan has launched a military “operation” in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The city of Stepanakert is under fire, reports the AFP news agency.
Nagorno-Karabakh is an area that is formally part of Azerbaijan but in practice functions as a breakaway region under the wing of Armenia. During the day, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan announced that a military operation has been launched in Nagorno-Karabakh with the aim of combating terrorist activities in the area.
The breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh confirmed the shelling in an official statement.
Armenia denies the information and writes in a press release that “the situation at the border is stable”. Armenia does not recognize the breakaway region as independent.
Humanitarian corridors have been created to evacuate civilians, according to Azeri authorities.
In recent months, tensions have risen between Armenia and Azerbaijan, with military buildups and mutual accusations of violations of the Russian-brokered ceasefire after the 2020 fighting in which more than 6,500 people died.