Azerbaijan says it crushed Armenia attack near enclave, EU wants end to fighting

BAKU, Aug 3 (Reuters) – Azerbaijan stated its forces had crushed an Armenian assault close to the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh on Wednesday, prompting worldwide requires an finish to combating in a area that has been a flashpoint for 30 years.

Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan with Armenian assist after a bloody post-Soviet ethnic battle within the early Nineteen Nineties. In 2020, Azerbaijan efficiently gained again a part of the territory managed by the separatists.

Beneath the phrases of a subsequent ceasefire, Russian peacekeepers have been deployed to guard the rest of the separatist-held territory. Each side although accuse one another of breaches and in current days violence has flared.

The Azeri defence ministry stated Armenia had grossly violated the ceasefire by committing an act of sabotage that killed one soldier. As well as, Baku stated its forces had crushed again an Armenian try and seize a hill in an space managed by the Russian peacekeepers.

“Because of this, these combating for the unlawful Armenian armed formations have been killed and injured,” it stated in an announcement, demanding all Armenian troops pull out of the world and promising “crushing” countermeasures if needed.

In response, Armenia’s overseas ministry stated Azerbaijan had violated the ceasefire by launching an assault in areas managed by the peacekeepers. In an announcement, it stated Yerevan wished the worldwide group “to undertake measures towards halting the aggressive behaviour and actions of Azerbaijan”.

The European Union referred to as for a right away finish to hostilities and stated each side ought to respect the ceasefire, a name echoed by the Polish chairman of the Group for Safety and Co-operation in Europe.

Earlier, separatist authorities within the ethnically Armenian enclave declared a partial mobilisation.

Russia stated the state of affairs within the areas managed by its peacekeepers was getting extra tense and reported not less than one violation of the ceasefire by Azeri forces, Interfax stated.

Reporting by Nailia Bagirova, writing by David Ljunggren; enhancing by Bernadette Baum and Alistair Bell

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