Another shooting incident reported to have occurred in Karabakh despite ceasefire deal

Armenian groups in Nagorno-Karabakh claim that Azerbaijan’s military has violated a ceasefire agreement mediated by Russia.

Social media videos showed the sound of guns in the capital city of the territory.

Azerbaijan said that the reports are not true.

The two groups had discussions to discuss the inclusion of the enclave into Azerbaijan after Karabakh forces agreed to surrender after a day of intense fighting.

The day after the truce started, Armenian forces in the area said that Azerbaijan was breaking the agreement on the ceasefire by using different weapons.

They said that people could hear gunshots in the center of the main city of the region, called Khankendi, also known as Stepanakert by Armenians.

Videos showed people in the city running for safety and there was the sound of what seemed to be gunfire from small weapons in the background.

Neutral observers have not been able to go to the area since Azerbaijan imposed a strong blockade in December 2022.

Azerbaijan’s defense ministry quickly said that the news about fighting restarting is not true. They strongly disagree with this information.

At the same time, Armenian and Azerbaijani representatives met in the town of Yevlakh, which is about 100km (60 miles) north of Khankendi, to talk about what will happen next in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Photographs on state media in Azerbaijan showed the two groups sitting together with members of Russia’s peacekeeping team.

After the ceasefire, Azerbaijan wants to gain full control over a breakaway region in the South Caucasus. Around 120,000 ethnic Armenians live there. Nagorno-Karabakh is known by the whole world as a part of Azerbaijan.

According to the agreement, the local Karabakh forces have to completely stop existing and also give up their weapons.

There is also a promise to Armenian forces leaving, even though their government says they don’t have any soldiers there.

Armenians are worried that if Azerbaijan gains control, there might be a possibility of removing Armenians from the area and making them leave Karabakh forcefully.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev mentioned that his country has no issues with the general population, but rather with their “criminal junta”.

Russia’s news agency, Interfax, reported that their peacekeepers had helped around 5,000 people leave dangerous places since the attack started.

According to Russia’s Kommersant newspaper, at least four peacekeepers were killed in shelling. One of them was the mission’s deputy commander.

President Aliyev expressed his sympathy and informed Vladimir Putin that there will be an investigation into their deaths, according to the Kremlin.