Azerbaijan and Armenia struggle for 2nd day over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh early Wednesday, a day after Azerbaijani forces used heavy artillery fire on Armenian positions in the separatist region that local officials said killed or wounded scores of people. Azerbaijan has called the artillery fire an «anti-terrorist operation» and said it will continue until the separatist government of Nagorno-Karabakh dismantles itself and «illegal Armenian military formations» surrender.
It said it is only targeting military sites, but significant damage was visible on the streets of the regional capital, Stepanakert, with shop windows blown out and vehicles punctured apparently by shrapnel.
The blasts reverberated around Stepanakert every few minutes on Wednesday morning, with some explosions in the distance and others closer to the city.
The artillery fire raised concerns that a full-scale war in the region could resume between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which for more than three decades have been locked in a struggle over the mountainous territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
