UN chief calls for ‘immediate end’ to fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh
The view shows a residential building damaged as a result of shelling by Azerbaijani armed forces in Nagorno-Karabakh region, Azerbaijan, September 20, 2023. /CFP
The view shows a residential building damaged as a result of shelling by Azerbaijani armed forces in Nagorno-Karabakh region, Azerbaijan, September 20, 2023. /CFP
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an “immediate end to the fighting” in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, where Azerbaijan launched a military operation on Tuesday.
“The Secretary-General calls in the strongest terms for an immediate end to the fighting, de-escalation, and stricter observance of the 2020 ceasefire and principles of international humanitarian law,” Guterres’ spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on Tuesday.
Azerbaijan’s defense ministry said that its military measures in the region continued successfully.
“Combat positions, military vehicles, artillery and anti-aircraft missile installations, radio-electronic warfare stations and other military equipment belonging to the units of the Armenian armed forces have been neutralized,” the ministry said in a statement on the Telegram messaging platform.
On Tuesday, Azerbaijan sent troops backed by artillery strikes into Armenian-controlled Nagorno Karabakh in an attempt to bring the breakaway region to heel by force.
The human rights ombudsman in Nagorno-Karabakh said that seven civilians had been killed and over 20 were wounded in attacks by Azerbaijan’s military.
(With input from agencies)