Separatist Armenian forces in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh have agreed to a ceasefire to end hostilities with Azerbaijan. The ceasefire agreement, proposed by Russian peacekeepers, means separatist forces in the region will have to disband and withdraw all heavy weaponry. It comes after Azerbaijan demanded the total surrender of ethnic Armenians in the region. Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said it would not stop artillery and drone bombardment of the region until Armenian armed forces “lay down their weapons” and “surrender”, despite calls from the US and Russia for calm. The country began what it called its “anti-terrorist” operation on Tuesday in Nagorno-Karabakh after it claimed four of its soldiers and two civilians died in landmine explosions in the region. Now, dozens have been reported dead and more than 200 wounded after Armenian officials said the region’s capital Stepanakert and other villages came under “intense shelling”. On Wednesday, Russia and America condemned the “bloodshed” and called for an “immediate” end to hostilities between Azerbaijan and Armenians in the contested region. Armenian ethnic separatists demanded independence from Azerbaijan nearing the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1988, when it was known as the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. After a separatist war in 1994, the territory remained under ethnic Armenian control. But Azerbaijan regained parts of Nagorno-Karabakh after a six-week conflict in 2020. That war ended with an armistice which placed a Russian peacekeeper contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh. But Azerbaijan alleges that Armenia has smuggled in weapons since then. Armenia’s foreign ministry denied that its weapons or troops were in Nagorno-Karabakh and called reported sabotage and land mines in the region “a lie.” Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashiyan alleged that Azerbaijan’s main goal is to draw the two countries into conflict with each other. Some 27 people, including two civilians, were killed and more than 200 others were wounded, according to Nagorno-Karabakh’s human rights ombudsman Geghan Stepanyan. On Wednesday, Ruben Vardanyan, former head of the breakaway region’s government, claimed “close to 100” had been killed, and hundreds more injured. Neither claim has been verified. Azerbaijan said it was 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 region’s military said Azerbaijan was using aircraft, artillery and missile systems, and drones in the fighting. Pictures showed Stepanakert residents hiding in basements and bomb shelters, as the fighting cut off electricity. According to some reports, food shortages have affected the region, with limited humanitarian aid delivered on Monday not distributed due to the shelling, which resumed in the evening after halting briefly in the afternoon. Thousands of protesters gathered on Tuesday in central Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, blocking streets and demanding that authorities defend Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. Read More Azerbaijan and Armenia fight for 2nd day over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh Azerbaijan announces an 'anti-terrorist operation' targeting Armenian positions in Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians face genocide in Azerbaijan, former International Criminal Court prosecutor warns The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

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COLUMBUS, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 12, 2023--