Clashes continue in Nagorno-Karabakh despite truce deals

Clashes have continued between Azeri and Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh despite three attempts to establish a ceasefire.

Nagorno-Karabakh’s self-proclaimed defense ministry said on Tuesday that clashes continued in “some directions” of the conflict zone, noting that its forces “continue to implement combat tasks, keeping the operative-tactical situation under control.”

It said the situation in the conflict zone “remained relatively stable and tense” overnight.

“Artillery duels continued in some areas,” it said. Shells landed in the towns of Martuni and Martakert, as well as villages in the northern part of Askeran region.

According to Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry, fighting concentrated in three front-line areas, namely Khojavend, Fizuli, and Gubadli. The ministry said its military positions and settlements near the front-line had been fired upon.

The clashes come even though Baku and Yerevan announced they would begin a third US-mediated attempt to establish a lasting ceasefire on Monday, after four weeks of fighting. Two earlier Russia-brokered ceasefire agreements collapsed immediately after taking effect, with both sides accusing each other of violations.

Armenian Defense Ministry official Artsrun Hovhannisyan told a press conference late on Monday that ethnic Armenian forces had withdrawn from the settlement of Gubadli south of the enclave “to avoid unnecessary losses,” but the situation was “not critical.”