Baku (Azerbaijan): Armenia and Azerbaijan said that a fierce fight against the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh is still going on. The President of Azerbaijan said on Saturday that his forces had captured a city and several villages while Armenian authorities said that his forces had inflicted heavy losses on the opposing side. The conflict between the two countries began on 27 September in the region which falls under Azerbaijan but is controlled by local Armenian forces. It is the most serious conflict in the region after the war ended in 1994. Armenian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Susan Stepanian said that “heavy fighting continued throughout the forward area” on Saturday and that the Armenian army shot down three aircraft.
Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defense refused to drop any aircraft, saying that the Armenian army opened fire in civilian areas. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said that the country’s army has “hoisted the flag” in Madagiz city and seven villages. Nagorno-Karabakh officials said that more than 150 soldiers from their side have died so far. Azerbaijan authorities have not given details of casualties on their side but said that 19 civilians have lost their lives and 55 others have been injured.
Wahram Poghosyan, a spokesman for the President of Nagorno-Karabakh, claimed on Facebook on Saturday that according to intelligence figures, about 3,000 people from Azerbaijan have died in the fighting. Arsenia’s Ministry of Defense spokesman Artstran Owannesian later said that about 2,300 Azerbaijan soldiers had died, of which 400 died the previous day. Armenia’s claims could not be confirmed by not commenting on the casualties of Azerbaijan soldiers.
