International

Azerbaijan and Armenia accused each other on Saturday of fresh attacks in violation of a week-old Russian-brokered truce that has failed to halt the worst fighting in the South Caucasus since the 1990s. Baku said 13 civilians were killed and more than 50 wounded in the city of Ganja by an Armenian missile attack, while Yerevan accused Azerbaijan of continued shelling. The fighting is the worst in the region since Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces went to war in the 1990s over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountain territory that is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but populated and governed by ethnic Armenians. The Azeri Prosecutor General’s office said a residential area in Ganja, the country’s second-largest city and miles away from Nagorno-Karabakh, was shelled by missile strikes and around 20 apartment buildings had been hit. Armenia denied the claim. Azeri President Ilham Aliyev accused Armenia of committing a war crime by shelling Ganja. “They will be held responsible for that ... If the international community does not punish Armenia, we will do it,” he said. Aliyev said the Azeri army has completely taken over two regions previously held by separatists, Fizuli and Jabrail. “We are dominating the battlefield,” he said, adding that Azeri armed forces never targeted civilian settlements. Aliyev also questioned Armenia’s ability to keep replacing military hardware destroyed in battles, a thinly veiled jab at Yerevan’s ally Moscow. He reiterated his stance that Baku would only stop its offensive once Armenia withdraws from Nagorno-Karabakh. In Ganja, rescuers worked at the scene on Saturday morning, picking through rubble, a Reuters photographer said. Some houses had been almost levelled. An excavator was clearing the debris. “We have been living in fear for days ... We are suffering a lot. We would rather die. I wish we were dead but our children would survive,” one resident of the city, 58-year-old Emina Aliyeva, told reporters. The Armenian defence ministry denied the Azeri claim on shelling cities in Azerbaijan and accused Baku of continuing to shell populated areas inside Nagorno-Karabakh, including Stepanakert, the region’s biggest city. Three civilians were wounded as a result of Azeri fire, the Armenian foreign ministry said. A Reuters cameraman in Stepanakert said he had heard several explosions on Friday night and in the early hours of the morning. Armenia also said several Azeri drones flew over settlements in Armenia, attacked military installations and damaged the civilian infrastructure. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called attacks “an attempted genocide of the Armenian people”. “We must defend ourselves, like any nation that is threatened with extermination,” he told the French newspaper Liberation. Baku said on Saturday that 60 Azeri civilians had been killed and 270 wounded since the fighting flared on Sept. 27. Azerbaijan has not disclosed military casualties. Nagorno-Karabakh says 633 of its military personnel have been killed, and 34 civilians.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Party was poised for a landslide victory in New Zealand’s general election on Saturday, and possibly the first single-party government in decades. Labour was on track to win 66 of the 120 seats in the country’s unicameral parliament, the highest by any party since New Zealand adopted a proportional voting system in 1996. If Labour wins more than half the seats, Ardern could form the first single-party government under the current system. “This is a historic shift,” political commentator Bryce Edwards of Victoria University in Wellington said, describing the vote as one of the biggest swings in New Zealand’s electoral history in 80 years. “This is new ground,” he said. Labour had 50.1% of the votes, ahead of the opposition National Party of Judith Collins at 26.2%, the Electoral Commission said, with 40% of ballots counted in an election that was largely a referendum on Ardern’s aggressive handling of COVID-19. “If these numbers hold, it will be a very strong mandate,” said Finance Minister Grant Robertson, a Labour MP. “People were very grateful and very happy with how we’ve handled COVID, they like the shape of the plan that we’ve got going forward from here for the economy.” Geoffrey Miller, analyst at political website Democracy Project, said the victory was “very much a personal triumph for Jacinda Ardern’s ‘superstar’ popularity and brand.” Of Ardern’s current coalition partners, the nationalist New Zealand First Party had 2.4% and the Green Party 8.0%. If she is unable to form a Labour-only government, she is expected to continue to rely on the minor Greens while jettisoning New Zealand First. A Labour-Green coalition would be the first fully left-leaning government in decades, a scenario that National’s Collins warned would mean more taxes and an environment hostile to business. Ardern, 40, has pledged to raise taxes on top earners, while Collins promised short-term tax cuts, but they have otherwise shown few major differences on policy. National’s deputy leader Gerry Brownlee said it was too early to concede defeat but acknowledged “the Jacinda Ardern effect” on the race. Brownlee was trailing by thousands of votes in his electorate in a National stronghold in Christchurch. ‘BE STRONG, BE KIND’ The prime minister won global acclaim for her handling of a mass shooting last year by a white supremacist in Christchurch, with her inclusive “be strong, be kind” mantra and swift action to ban guns. She burnished that reputation this year with a “go hard, go early” approach to the new coronavirus, which has eliminated locally spread COVID-19 in the nation. The election was delayed by a month after new COVID-19 infections in Auckland, that led to a second lockdown in the country’s largest city. While known internationally for promoting progressive causes such as woman’s rights and social justice, at home Ardern faced criticism that her government failed on a promise to be transformational. Life is back to normal in New Zealand, but its borders are still shut, its tourism sector is bleeding and economists predict a lasting recession after the harsh lockdowns. The economy shrank at an 12.2% annual clip in the second quarter, its steepest drop since the Great Depression. Debt is forecast to rise to 56% of gross domestic product from less than 20% before the pandemic. New Zealanders also voted on Saturday in referendums to legalise euthanasia and recreational marijuana, with results to be announced on Oct. 30. The latter vote could make New Zealand only the third country in the world to allow the adult use and sale of cannabis nationwide, after Uruguay and Canada.

* Humanitarian ceasefire is fraying * Fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh is heaviest in decades * Ethnic tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian and Azeri forces fought new clashes on Friday, defying hopes of ending nearly three weeks of fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. The worst outbreak of violence in the South Caucasus since Armenia and Azerbaijan went to war over the enclave in the 1990s, the fighting risks creating a humanitarian disaster, especially if it draws in Russia and Turkey. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but populated and governed by ethnic Armenians. News agency RIA reported the Russian navy had started planned military exercises in the Caspian Sea. There were further signs on Friday that a Russian-brokered ceasefire agreed last Saturday to allow the sides to swap detainees and the bodies of those killed had all but broken down. Armenia and Azerbaijan each accused the other of launching attacks, and each said it had the upper hand. Armenian defence ministry official Artsrun Hovhannisyan said Azerbaijan had conducted artillery bombardments of Nagorno-Karabakh from the north, "with total disregard for the humanitarian truce". He added that Azeri forces had been repelled and had suffered significant losses. Azerbaijan's defence ministry said Nagorno-Karabakh forces had been forced to retreat and Azeri forces retained the advantage along the line of contact that divides the sides. Reuters could not independently verify the reports. Baku also accused Yerevan of a missile attack on Ordubad in Nakhchivan autonomous province, a region which belongs to Azerbaijan but is surrounded by Armenia and Iran. Armenia denied such an attack. The Nagorno-Karabakh defence ministry reported 29 more military casualties, bringing to 633 the number of servicemen killed since fighting broke out on Sept. 27. Azerbaijan does not disclose military casualties. The Azeri prosecutor-general's office said 47 civilians had been killed and 222 wounded. The hostilities, close to pipelines in Azerbaijan that carry gas and oil to global markets, are stoking concern in Europe and the United States that Turkey and Russia, already at loggerheads over Syria and Libya, will be dragged in. Pompeo said a diplomatic resolution was needed, rather than "third-party countries coming in to lend their firepower to what is already a powder keg of a situation," in an interview with broadcaster WSB Atlanta. Armenia's foreign ministry said Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan had spoken by phone with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, asking the international community to "neutralise" Azeri actions which he said posed "an existential danger of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh". Meanwhile Iran tweeted that its foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had offered the Azeri side Teheran's help with the peace process. The conflict between the two former Soviet republics threatens to further damage their economies, already hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and, in Azerbaijan's case, weak oil prices. With 43,280 Covid-19 cases, Azerbaijan said it would close secondary schools and shut the underground rail system in the capital Baku between Oct. 19 and Nov. 2. Armenia said on Friday its caseload had risen to 61,460. In projections drafted before fighting started, the World Bank predicted Armenia's economy would shrink 6.3% this year, while expecting Azerbaijan to contract 4.2%.

Twitter experienced a brief service outage on Thursday, but the company denied that it was a result of a security breach or hack. "Twitter has been down for many of you and we're working to get it back up and running for everyone," the company said. "We had some trouble with our internal systems and don't have any evidence of a security breach or hack," it added. Twitter had a major outage in February.

* Concern mounting as humanitarian ceasefire frays * Fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh is heaviest in decades * Russia appeals for sides to observe ceasefire Azerbaijan accused Armenia on Wednesday of trying to attack its gas and oil pipelines and warned of a "severe" response as tensions rose sharply around a fraying ceasefire in the mountain enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia hit back by saying Azeri forces wanted to seize control of the tiny territory in the South Caucasus, which is governed by ethnic Armenians. "Armenia is trying to attack and take control of our pipelines," Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with Turkish broadcaster Haberturk. "If Armenia tries to take control of the pipelines there, I can say that the outcome will be severe for them," he said. Azerbaijan's defence ministry said separately that it would destroy all military facilities in Armenia that targeted Azeri civilian locations. The Armenian defence ministry has denied firing on civilian targets, but said it reserved the right to target any military installations and combat movements in Azerbaijan. It said on Wednesday that the Azeri side had opened fire towards the territory of Armenia and destroyed military equipment. In a televised speech after Aliyev spoke, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the situation in the conflict area was "very difficult."  Azerbaijan was trying to occupy Nagorno-Karabakh, he said, using similar language to Azeri leaders who say Armenian forces are occupying the territory. The fighting in one of the former Soviet Union's "frozen conflicts" is the worst since a 1991-94 war in which about 30,000 people were killed as the enclave broke away from Azerbaijan.  Azerbaijan has greater firepower than the Armenian forces and says it has made territorial gains since the latest fighting broke out on Sept. 27. Nagorno-Karabakh has acknowledged some setbacks but says the situation is "under control". The ceasefire, brokered by Russia, was meant to allow the sides to swap prisoners and bodies of those killed, but the continued fighting has hindered those efforts. The Kremlin and the Russian defence and foreign ministers issued new appeals for Azerbaijan and Armenia to observe the ceasefire as it buckled on Wednesday. Russia has, with the United States and France, long led mediation over Nagorno-Karabakh by the OSCE security watchdog's "Minsk Group". Moscow has a defence pact with Armenia and is worried by Turkey and Azerbaijan suggesting the conflict could be solved militarily. "We do not agree with the position voiced by Turkey, that was also expressed several times by President Aliyev," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. Lavrov said it would be right to deploy Russian military observers on Nagorno-Karabakh's line of contact, which separates the two sides, but that it was up to Azerbaijan and Armenia to decide. In a speech to lawmakers from his ruling AK Party in parliament, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said the Minsk Group was stalling in dealing with the conflict, and said Nagorno-Karabakh must be given back to Azerbaijan.

* Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire went into effect on Saturday * Both sides accuse each other of violating ceasefire * Fighting is deadliest in years in long-running conflict Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other on Tuesday of violating a ceasefire agreed three days ago to quell fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, drawing warnings from international groups of a humanitarian crisis in the region. The Russia-brokered truce is buckling despite mounting calls from world powers to halt the fighting, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the Minsk Group security watchdog among those urging greater commitment to the ceasefire terms. A Reuters cameraman witnessed shelling in the town of Martuni in Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountain enclave which is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but governed and populated by ethnic Armenians. A Reuters television crew in Terter in Azerbaijan also said the city centre was being shelled earlier on Tuesday. Azerbaijan accused Armenian forces of "grossly violating the humanitarian truce", which was agreed on Saturday to allow the sides to swap prisoners and bodies of those killed. . Defence ministry spokesman Vagif Dargiahly said Armenia was shelling the Azeri territories of Goranboy and Aghdam, as well as Terter. Azeri forces were not violating the truce, he added. Armenian defence ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan denied the accusation. She said Azeri forces had resumed military operations after an overnight lull, "supported by active artillery fire in the southern, northern, northeastern and eastern directions". The fighting which erupted on Sept. 27, is the worst since a 1991-94 war over Nagorno-Karabakh that killed about 30,000. It is being closely watched abroad, not only due to its proximity to Azeri energy pipelines to Europe but also because of fears that Russia and Turkey could be drawn in. The Minsk Group called on the Armenian and Azeri leaders to immediately implement the ceasefire to prevent "catastrophic consequences for the region". The 11-member group includes both Russia and Turkey, but the latter is not involved in the Nagorno-Karabakh talks. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu suggested holding talks that would include Turkey. Ceasefire demands were "reasonable", according to Cavusoglu, but he said the international community should ask Armenia to withdraw from Azeri territory. "Sadly no such call is being made," he told reporters . Influential Turkish politician Devlet Bahceli, whose party supports President Erdogan's AKP in parliament, took a more belligerent note, telling Azerbaijan to secure Nagorno-Karabakh by "hitting Armenia over the head over and over again". The death toll has risen further, meanwhile. Nagorno-Karabakh officials said 542 servicemen had been killed so far, up 17 from Monday. Azerbaijan has reported 42 Azeri civilian deaths and 206 wounded since Sept. 27. It has not disclosed military casualties. Martin Schuepp, Eurasia regional director for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said his organisation was in "continuous discussions" to facilitate the handover of detainees or bodies of those killed. But the security situation meant "it has not been possible for us to access all locations that might have been affected," Schuepp said. The conflict is also worsening the spread of Covid-19, World Health Organisation spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told a United Nations briefing in Geneva. Armenia's new cases had doubled over the past 14 days as of Monday, while new infections were up approximately 80% over the past week in Azerbaijan, Jasarevic said. He warned of "direct disruption to health care and a further burden on health systems that are already stretched during the COVID pandemic." With tens of thousands of people potentially needing help in coming months, the ICRC is appealing for another 9.2 million Swiss francs ($10.10 million) to fund its humanitarian efforts in the region, Schuepp said.

* Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire went into effect on Saturday * Both sides accuse each other of violating ceasefire * Fighting is deadliest in years in long-running conflict Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces accused each other on Monday of launching new attacks in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, increasing strains on a two-day-old humanitarian ceasefire intended to end heavy fighting over the mountain enclave. The fighting, the deadliest over Nagorno-Karabakh in over 25 years, is being watched closely abroad partly because of its proximity to Azeri gas and oil pipelines and the risk of regional powers Turkey and Russia being dragged in.  The ceasefire is meant to allow ethnic Armenian forces and Azerbaijan to swap prisoners and bodies of people killed in two weeks of fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, which is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but governed and populated by ethnic Armenians. But the ceasefire has frayed quickly. Azerbaijan said on Sunday it had launched air strikes against an Armenian regiment, following what it said was an Armenian rocket attack on an apartment building. Armenia denied carrying out such an attack.  On Monday, Azerbaijan's defence ministry said Armenian forces had tried to attack its positions around the Aghdere-Aghdam and Fizuli-Jabrail regions, and were shelling territories in the Goranboy, Terter and Aghdam regions inside Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh said its forces had inflicted losses on Azeri forces and that large-scale military operations were continuing in the Hadrut area of the enclave. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia, which has a defence pact with Armenia, was monitoring the events and asked Azeri and ethnic Armenian forces to respect the ceasefire. Turkey said in a statement its defence minister, Hulusi Akar, had told Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu by telephone that Armenian forces must be removed from Azeri territory. Turkey supports Azerbaijan's offensive to "retake its occupied lands", the statement said, adding that Baku "would not wait another 30 years" for a solution. Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, Armenia's foreign minister, met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.  Accusing Azerbaijan of ceasefire violations, Mnatsakanyan said: "We want the ceasefire, we want verification mechanisms on the ground, which will indicate the perpetrator, which will demonstrate the party that is not faithful to this ceasefire." The fighting is the worst since a 1994 ceasefire ended a war over Nagorno-Karabakh that killed at least 30,000.  Azerbaijan said 41 Azeri civilians had been killed and 207 wounded since Sept. 27. It has not disclosed information about military casualties. Nagorno-Karabakh said its military death toll had reached 480, and more than 20 civilians had been killed.

Security forces in Belarus detained dozens of protesters on Sunday and used force, including water cannon and batons, to break up crowds demanding a new presidential election, TV footage showed. Footage published by local news outlets showed police officers wearing black balaclavas dragging protesters into unmarked black vans and beating protesters with their batons at a rally that drew thousands onto the streets of the capital Minsk. One sequence showed a police van unleashing a powerful jet of water from a cannon into crowds, visibly pushing them back. Belarus, a former Soviet republic closely allied with Russia, has been rocked by street protests and strikes since authorities announced that veteran leader Alexander Lukashenko had won an Aug. 9 vote by a landslide. People have since taken to the streets every week to demand that Lukashenko step down and allow for a new election to be held. Lukashenko, a former collective farm manager who has been in power since 1994, denies his win was the result of cheating. Security forces have detained more than 13,000 people during a post-election crackdown, some of whom have been later freed. Lukashenko’s key political opponents are either in jail or have fled abroad. Sunday’s violence followed a meeting Lukashenko held on Saturday in a Minsk jail with detained opposition leaders, an unusual event that prompted some opposition activists to believe he was preparing to make concessions. In a rare concession, two people who had taken part in the meeting with Lukashenko -- businessman Yuri Voskresensky and Dmitry Rabtsevich, director of the Minsk office of PandaDoc software maker -- were released late on Sunday, Belarus state television reported. The United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada have imposed sanctions against a string of senior officials in Belarus accused of fraud and human rights abuses in the wake of the presidential election. Opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who is now based in Lithuania, has called for new elections and for all political prisoners to be freed. “We will continue to march peacefully and persistently and demand what is ours: new free and transparent elections,” Tsikhanouskaya wrote on her Telegram channel on Sunday. Similar rallies were held in other cities across the country on Sunday.  

Hopes that a Russian-brokered ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan might hold were further eroded Sunday, with both sides accusing the other of intensive shelling of civilian areas and escalating two weeks of fierce clashes. Azerbaijan's foreign ministry said that overnight shelling by Armenian forces on the country's second largest city, Ganja, had left at least seven people dead and 33 wounded including children, less than 24 hours after the halt to fighting was supposed to take effect. Rescuers in red helmets dug through piles of debris with their bare hands in search of signs of survivors, an AFP journalist in the city reported. They retrieved one nearly naked body and gingerly put it in a white bag to be taken away in an ambulance while several horrified residents watched on and wept. One witness said they were woken by a huge blast that levelled an entire square block of one- and two-storey houses in the early hours of the morning, leaving nine apartments destroyed. "Everything I've worked for my entire life has been destroyed," said resident Zagit Aliyev, 68. The agreement to pause hostilities in order to exchange prisoners and the bodies of people killed after two weeks of fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region was approved by Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in marathon Russia-brokered talks in Moscow. The truce officially entered into force at noon on Saturday but both sides almost immediately accused each other of violations. On Sunday, the defence ministry in the breakaway region insisted Armenian forces were respecting the humanitarian ceasefire and in turn accused Azerbaijan of shelling civilian-populated areas. Claims that Armenian forces were responsible for shelling Ganja were "an absolute lie," it added. The leader of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, Arayik Harutyunyan, described the situation as "calmer" on Sunday, but warned that the truce was precarious. An AFP journalist in the administrative capital of Stepanakert, which has been subjected to heavy bombing since the fighting erupted and is pockmarked with deep craters and unexploded ordnance, reported hearing loud explosions throughout the night. Vahram Poghosyan, a spokesman for Karabakh's leader, said the overnight shelling of Stepanakert was "a disrespect of the agreements reached in Moscow," and called on the international community to recognise the Karabakh's independence as a way to end the hostilities. New fighting broke out late last month, stemming from a long-simmering disagreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region. The disputed territory is an ethnic Armenian enclave inside Azerbaijan, home to about 150,000 people, which broke from Azerbaijan's control in a war in the 1990s that killed some 30,000 people. Its separatist government is strongly backed by Armenia, which like Azerbaijan gained independence with the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

*Two sides strike ceasefire deal after marathon talks *Both agree in Moscow to start peace negotiations Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed Saturday to a ceasefire and to begin "substantive talks" over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh after nearly two weeks of fierce clashes. Bitter fighting in the Caucasus region has claimed hundreds of lives, forced thousands to flee, and stirred fears of a full-blown war that could suck in regional powers Turkey and Russia. Speaking after 11 hours of Moscow-mediated talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the warring sides had agreed to a ceasefire from "12 hours 00 minutes on October 10 on humanitarian grounds."  Qatar welcomes ceasefire deal Qatar has welcomed the agreement reached between Azerbaijan and Armenia providing for a ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. In a statement Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed Qatar's aspiration that the ceasefire declaration paves the way for resolving the dispute between the two countries through dialogue and diplomatic means in order to preserve the interests of the two countries and the two peoples. The statement affirmed Qatar's support for the international efforts aimed at restoring security, stability and peace in the region. (QNA) During the ceasefire -- mediated by the International Committee of the Red Cross -- the parties will exchange bodies and prisoners, Lavrov said, reading from a statement. "Concrete parameters of the ceasefire will be agreed separately," the statement added. Russia's top diplomat also said that Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to start negotiating a peaceful solution to the territorial dispute. "Azerbaijan and Armenia begin substantive negotiations with the purpose of achieving a peaceful settlement as soon as possible," Lavrov told reporters, adding that such talks would be mediated by France, Russia and the US. Within minutes of the truce taking effect from midday, both sides accused each other of breaking it, raising questions about how meaningful the truce, brokered by Russia, would turn out to be. The Moscow talks were the first diplomatic contact between the two since fighting over the mountainous enclave erupted on Sept. 27. The enclave is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but is populated and governed by ethnic Armenians. The Armenian defence ministry accused Azerbaijan of shelling a settlement inside Armenia, while ethnic Armenian forces in Karabakh alleged that Azeri forces had launched a new offensive five minutes after the truce took hold. Azerbaijan said enemy forces in Karabakh were shelling Azeri territory. Both sides have consistently denied each others' assertions in what has also become a war of words accompanying the fighting. Azeri President Ilham Aliyev told Russia's RBC news outlet that the warring parties were now engaged in trying to find a political settlement, but suggested there would be further fighting ahead. "We'll go to the very end and get what rightfully belongs to us," he said. Azeri Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said the truce would last only for as long as it took for the Red Cross to arrange the exchange of the dead. Speaking at a briefing in Baku, he said Azerbaijan hoped and expected to take control of more territory in time. Armenia's foreign ministry said it was using all diplomatic channels to try to support the truce, while Nagorno-Karabakh's foreign ministry accused Azerbaijan of using ceasefire talks as cover to ready military action. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who had mediated over 10 hours of talks, said in a statement early yesterday that the ceasefire had been agreed on humanitarian grounds. The International Committee of the Red Cross said it stood ready to facilitate the handover of bodies of those killed in action and the simultaneous release of detainees. Lavrov said Armenia and Azerbaijan had also agreed to enter into what he called substantive peace talks. Those talks would be held under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE) Minsk Group, he said. Azerbaijan has said it wants a change in the talks' format, has spoken of wanting to get Turkey involved too, and accused France of not being a neutral mediator. Putin spoke to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani by phone about the deal, the Kremlin said. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamed Javad Zarif said on Twitter the deal was a step towards peace. Dmitri Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center and a former colonel in the Russian army, said on Twitter that any peace talks were likely to fail and that Azerbaijan would continue to press for Armenian forces to leave the enclave, something Armenia would not accept. Russia could not afford to step back, he said. Renewed fighting in the decades-old conflict has raised fears of a wider war drawing in Turkey, a close ally of Azerbaijan, and Russia, which has a defence pact with Armenia. The clashes have also increased concern about the security of pipelines that carry Azeri oil and gas to Europe. The fighting is the worst since a 1991-94 war that killed about 30,000 people and ended with a ceasefire that has been violated repeatedly. Turkey welcomed the ceasefire deal but said much more was needed. "The humanitarian ceasefire is a significant first step but will not stand for a lasting solution," the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement."Turkey will continue to stand by Azerbaijan in the field and at the table".

Kyrgyzstan on Saturday put its former president Almazbek Atambayev back in jail while a populist politician, Sadyr Japarov, became acting prime minister as an ongoing political crisis rocked the Central Asian country. Protests over a disputed parliamentary election on Sunday developed into violent clashes, during which supporters freed prominent prisoners including Atambayev and Japarov. Incumbent president Sooronbay Jeenbekov had appeared to reassert control on Saturday following a week of unrest during which he promised to stand down. Atambayev was rearrested Saturday on suspicion of organising mass disorder, along with one of his bodyguards and another accomplice, the state national security committee said. The committee was currently "identifying and arresting other accomplices of this crime", it said. Atambayev was serving an 11-year sentence for his role in the illegal release of a crime boss when his supporters freed him on Monday. Atambayev's spokeswoman Kunduz Joldubayeva also confirmed his arrest, telling AFP by telephone that "special forces stormed (Atambayev's) compound" outside Bishkek. "They arrested the former president," Joldubayeva said. Shortly afterwards, a majority of lawmakers voted for Japarov, a headstrong populist, as acting prime minister during an extraordinary session of the parliament. Japarov said he expected Jeenbekov to honour a pledge to resign once a government had been formed, which the president made as clashes between rival groups escalated on Friday. "I met with him here at the state residency. He said that after confirming the cabinet and government structures, he would resign," Japarov said at his confirmation. Japarov said he did not plan changes to the cabinet immediately, but would appoint young ministers in the future. Japarov had been serving an 11.5-year sentence for hostage-taking and other crimes when he was freed on Monday night as chaos reigned. A court annulled the verdict as Japarov's supporters, many of them behaving aggressively, flooded into the city. President Jeenbekov on Friday ordered a state of emergency in the country's capital Bishkek, as shots were fired and at least five people injured in clashes between supporters of groups competing to form a government. The 61-year-old president had said he was "ready to resign", but only after law and order had been restored -- a pledge some critics described as a tactical manoeuvre. The instability came after supporters of Jeenbekov won parliamentary elections on Sunday that the opposition and monitors said had been marred by vote-buying. Although the result was subsequently cancelled by the electoral authorities, this failed to quell unrest. The unrest has alarmed ally Moscow, which has seen neighbouring ally Belarus rocked by post-election protests and war break out over Nagorno-Karabakh. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was "deeply concerned" about the "situation resembling a mess and chaos" on Thursday. Jeenbekov came to power in 2017 with support from Atambayev but the two fell out soon afterwards and Atambayev was jailed during a previous bout of political violence last year. Russian President Vladimir Putin, to whom both men are loyal, failed in his attempt to resolve the pair's standoff. Kyrgyzstan has seen two presidents overthrown by street protests since independence from the Soviet Union.

Azerbaijan and Armenia accused each other of swiftly violating the terms of a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh on Saturday, raising questions about how meaningful the truce, brokered by Russia, would turn out to be. The ceasefire, clinched after marathon talks in Moscow advocated by President Vladimir Putin, was meant to halt fighting to allow ethnic Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh and Azeri forces to swap prisoners and war dead. But within minutes of the truce taking effect from midday, both sides accused each other of breaking it. The Armenian defence ministry accused Azerbaijan of shelling a settlement inside Armenia, while ethnic Armenian forces in Karabakh alleged that Azeri forces had launched a new offensive five minutes after the truce took hold. Azerbaijan said enemy forces in Karabakh were shelling Azeri territory. Both sides have consistently denied each others’ assertions about military activity. In a statement which suggested the ceasefire was not completely dead however, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said the warring parties were now engaged in trying to find a political settlement. The Moscow ceasefire talks were the first diplomatic contact between the two since fighting over the mountainous enclave erupted on Sept. 27, killing hundreds of people. The enclave is internationally-recognised as part of Azerbaijan but is populated and governed by ethnic Armenians. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who helped mediate, said in a statement in the early hours of Saturday after more than 10 hours of negotiations that the ceasefire had been agreed on humanitarian grounds. The International Committee of the Red Cross would help make the truce work, he said. “The specific terms of the ceasefire still need to be agreed,” said Lavrov, who said Armenia and Azerbaijan had also agreed to enter into what he called substantive peace talks. Those talks would be held under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) Minsk Group, he said.

* Over 400 have been killed in fighting since Sept. 27 * Russia hosting warring sides' foreign ministers * Attempts are being made to avert a wider conflict  Azerbaijan's president ruled out making any concessions to Armenia on Friday ahead of talks aimed at halting the deadliest fighting in the South Caucasus region for more than 25 years. President Ilham Aliyev's uncompromising position in a televised speech appeared to leave little room for de-escalation as the Azeri and Armenian foreign ministers arrived in Moscow. The talks were expected to be the first diplomatic contact between the enemies since fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave erupted on Sept. 27, killing hundreds of people. The mountain enclave belongs to Azerbaijan under international law but broke away in a war as the Soviet Union collapsed and is populated and governed by ethnic Armenians. "Let those holding talks in Moscow know that it's our territory and we won't be making any concessions," Aliyev said after Azeri Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov flew to Moscow. He said he had proved there was a military solution to the dispute: "We are winning and will get our territory back and ensure our territorial integrity," Aliyev said. "Let them abandon our territory in peace." The talks in Moscow, attended by Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, follow the launch of a peace drive by France, Russia and the United States at a meeting in Geneva on Thursday, details of which have not been made public. The clashes have increased concern about the security of pipelines that carry Azeri oil and gas to Europe. The Armenian government said Friday's talks would focus on a cessation of hostilities and exchanges of bodies and prisoners. "We are moving towards a truce soon even if the situation is still fragile," French President Emmanuel Macron's office said. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Friday Nagorno-Karabakh was on the verge of a "humanitarian disaster". Azerbaijan's defence ministry said there had been fierce clashes on Friday with ethnic Armenian forces along the line of contact that divides the two sides, and that several areas deep in Azerbaijan had come under fire. Shells fell on Stepanakert, the city ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh consider the capital of an independent state, the enclave's defence ministry said. Armenia denied its forces had attacked locations deeper in Azerbaijan on Friday. Washington, Paris and Moscow have led mediation over Nagorno-Karabakh for almost three decades as co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Minsk Group. The fighting is the worst since a 1991-94 war that killed about 30,000 people and ended with a ceasefire that has been violated repeatedly. Azerbaijan said on Thursday that 31 Azeri civilians had been killed and 168 wounded since Sept. 27. It has not disclosed information about military casualties. Nagorno-Karabakh said on Friday 376 of its military personnel and 22 civilians had been killed since Sept. 27.

* President declares state of emergency * President offers to resign once new cabinet is formed * Two rival candidates for PM say they will work together Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov declared a state of emergency in the capital Bishkek on Friday and ordered the military to end days of unrest, as supporters of rival political groups fought on the streets. A Reuters journalist in the capital heard gunshots and saw demonstrators from rival groups throwing rocks and bottles at each other and scuffling. One opposition politician was reported to have been wounded. "Today we are witnessing a real threat to our statehood," Jeenbekov said, explaining the move, a day after the Kremlin said it needed to prevent chaos in the former Soviet republic. Earlier the president had said he was ready to resign once a new cabinet was appointed - which could happen on Saturday, when parliament plans to convene in his residence, according to a deputy speaker quoted by local news website Akipress. The country is facing a power vacuum, with opposition groups quarrelling among themselves since seizing government buildings and forcing the cancellation of results from Sunday's parliamentary election which they denounced as fraudulent. Two leading opposition figures reached an agreement to join forces on Friday, and won the backing of Jeenbekov's predecessor as president, Almazbek Atambayev. But their followers and followers of other groups held rival rallies, which politicians said posed a danger of violence. Jeenbekov's office said in a statement the state of emergency, including a curfew and tight security restrictions, would be in effect from 8 p.m, on Friday until 8 a.m. on Oct. 21. His order did not say how many troops would be deployed but they were instructed to "take the situation under control" and use military vehicles, set up checkpoints, and prevent armed clashes. However, a local NGO said the order required a confirmation from parliament. Russia has described the situation in Kyrgyzstan, which borders China and hosts a Russian military base, as "a mess and chaos". The crisis tests the Kremlin's power to shape politics in its former Soviet sphere of influence, at a time when fighting has erupted between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Belarus is also engulfed in protests. The opposition is divided between 11 parties which represent clan interests in a country that has already seen two presidents toppled by popular revolts since 2005. Rival candidates for the premiership Omurbek Babanov and Tilek Toktogaziyev joined forces on Friday, with Toktogaziyev agreeing to serve as Babanov's deputy. They were backed by four parties, local news website 24.kz reported. They were joined at a rally in Bishkek by the former president Atambayev. A few thousand followers chanted "I am not afraid" and "Kyrgyzstan" to the rhythmic beating of large drums. Followers of another candidate, Sadyr Zhaparov, also numbering a few thousand, held a demonstration nearby. Some of Zhaparov's supporters later rushed into the square, leading to scuffles between the rival groups until the Babanov and Toktogaziyev supporters withdrew. News website Akipress said Toktogaziyev was rushed to a hospital with blunt head trauma after the confrontation where he then regained consciousness and was in stable condition. Separately, an aide to Atambayev said a shot had been fired at his car which did not wound anyone. Jeenbekov's allies swept Sunday's parliamentary vote in the official results that have now been discarded. They have kept a low profile as the opposition parties have taken to the streets. Western observers said the election was marred by credible allegations of vote-buying. So far, veteran officials who supported the revolt have been in control of the security forces. On Friday, self-appointed provisional heads of the interior ministry and the state security service left their respective buildings and handed over the leadership to their deputies. The two state bodies said the move was meant to ensure security forces remained apolitical.

* Political unrest rocks Kyrgyzstan after parliamentary election * Western observers said vote marred by vote buying * Opposition supporters seize government buildings * President says a coup d'etat is underway (Adds cabinet continuing work, opposition setting up council) Opposition groups said they had seized power in Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday after taking control of government buildings during post-election protests in the strategically important Central Asian state. President Sooronbai Jeenbekov said the country, which hosts a Russian air base and a large Canadian-controlled gold mine, was facing an attempted coup d'etat. He called for calm and ordered security forces not to open fire on protesters after overnight unrest in which the government said one person was killed at 590 wounded. Officials said later the vote would be rerun, but it was not clear who would run it. Burnt out cars littered Bishkek, the capital, after protesters stormed the main government building, known as the White House, which briefly caught fire before emergency services put out the blaze. Debris from inside, including government papers, and office furniture, was strewn outside after protesters ransacked parts of it. Kyrgyzstan, which borders China and is a close ally of Russia, has long been a platform for geopolitical competition between Moscow, Washington and Beijing and has a history of political volatility: two of its presidents have been toppled by revolts in the past 15 years. The opposition said it had set up a coordination council and was discussing the line-up of a provisional government. "The leaders of parties that took part in the election have assumed responsibility for restoring public order," the council said. Opposition groups also had freed Almazbek Atambayev, a former president jailed on corruption charges after falling out with Jeenbekov. Atambayev was not named to any role, however, and Jeenbekov showed no immediate signs of relinquishing power. The cabinet, which operates out of a building separate from the White House, said it continued to function although Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov has not appeared in public since the unrest began. The central election commission said it had annulled the results of the election, meaning a new vote would have to be held shortly. Parliament said it would try to hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday after lawmakers failed to gather a quorum on Tuesday. Several opposition politicians urged them to install a provisional cabinet to legitimise a transfer of power. Interior Minister Kashkar Junushaliyev did not show up for work on Tuesday, a ministry spokesman said, saying that Kursan Asanov, an opposition politician and a former senior security official, had taken over as acting interior minister. Police had been ordered to ensure citizens' safety and prevent clashes and looting, the same spokesman said. Meanwhile, a factory at the second-largest gold deposit in Kyrgyzstan, Jeruy, was torched by unidentified people on Tuesday, its Russian-owned operator said. The Russian embassy to Kyrgyzstan said it supported resolving the situation in the country through legal means while ensuring stability and people's safety. CONTESTED VOTE Trouble erupted on Monday after police used teargas and water cannon to disperse thousands of people demanding the results of the parliamentary election be annulled. Western observers said the election, which appeared to have handed most seats to two establishment parties supporting closer links between the former Soviet republic and Russia, had been marred by vote buying. One of the parties was close to Jeenbekov, the president. As well as storming the White House, which houses both the president and parliament, protesters took over several other buildings, including the mayor's office. They appointed their own acting head of national security, acting prosecutor general and a commandant of Bishkek, although there were no indications of how much power they wielded. Protesters also freed several former senior officials jailed under Jeenbekov, including ex-prime minister Sapar Isakov and Atambayev's former chief of staff Farid Niyazov. Several provincial governors have resigned, according to local media reports which said public rallies had begun on Tuesday in several provincial centres, most of them anti-government. Jeenbekov's supporters were gathering in the southern city of Osh, the same reports said, where his brother Asylbek Jeenbekov called for unity and order.

Clashes between Armenian and Azerbajani forces were raging on Monday over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region as fears grew for civilians after the two sides began shelling major cities. Separatist forces in Karabakh -- an ethnic Armenian enclave that broke away from Azerbaijan in the 1990s -- reported firefights along the frontline and that the regional capital Stepanakert again came under artillery fire. Azerbaijan's defence ministry said Armenian forces were shelling several towns, including the country's second-largest city Ganja which was first hit on Sunday. Increasing artillery fire on urban areas has raised concerns of mass civilian casualties if the fierce fighting, which has already killed at least 260 people, continues to escalate. The clashes broke out on September 27, re-igniting a decades-old conflict between the ex-Soviet neighbours over Karabakh. Neither side has shown any sign of backing down, ignoring international calls for a ceasefire and a return to long-stalled negotiations on the region. Stepanakert, a city of 50,000 in the heart of the mountainous province, has been under steady artillery fire since Friday, with residents cramming in to underground shelters. The separatists' foreign ministry said Monday that shelling of Stepanakert had resumed at 6:30 am (0230 GMT). It released video footage of repeated bursts of heavy shelling and of debris from seriously damaged blocks of flats, claiming Azerbaijan had used cluster munitions. Azerbaijan said Armenian forces were shelling the cities of Ganja, with a population over 330,000, and Agjabedi, home to some 38,000, as well as the towns of Beylagan, Barda and Terter. Hikmet Hajiyev, an adviser to President Ilham Aliyev, accused the Armenians of "attacking densely populated civilian areas" and claimed they had shelled Ganja's central market. "Barbarism and vandalism. Sign of weakness and panic," he wrote on Twitter. The two sides have reported 266 deaths since the fighting erupted, including more than 40 civilians, but the real total is expected to be much higher as both sides are claiming to have inflicted heavy military casualties. Most of the confirmed deaths are from Karabakh's separatist forces, who have reported more than 220 fatalities including 21 more on Monday. Azerbaijan has not released any figures for military casualties. The International Committee of the Red Cross on Sunday condemned the reports of "indiscriminate shelling and other alleged unlawful attacks using explosive weaponry in cities, towns and other populated areas". A witness in Stepanakert told AFP the city had come under intense artillery fire on Monday morning but that shelling had eased by mid-day. The streets were largely empty, the witness said, with many people taking shelter in basements. Convoys of residents have fled the city for Armenian territory, with groups gathering in the border town of Goris hoping to find passage on to the capital Yerevan. In a fiery address to the nation on Sunday, Aliyev set conditions for a halt to the fighting that would be near impossible for Armenia to accept. He said Armenian forces "must leave our territories, not in words but in deeds," provide a timetable for a full withdrawal, apologise to the Azerbaijani people and recognise the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. "Nagorno-Karabakh is our land. We have to go back there and we are doing it now," Aliyev said. "This is the end. We showed them who we are. We are chasing them like dogs." Armenian foreign ministry spokeswoman Anna Nagdalyan said Baku was failing to "engage constructively" on the conflict. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan warned on Friday that Armenians were facing a "decisive moment" in their history and urged them to stand together. Russia, the United States and France -- co-chairs of a mediation group that has failed to find a political resolution to the conflict -- have called for an immediate halt to the fighting. Karabakh's declaration of independence from Azerbaijan during the collapse of the Soviet Union sparked a war in the early 1990s that claimed 30,000 lives. Talks to resolve the conflict have made little progress since a 1994 ceasefire agreement.

Roughly 1 in 10 people may have been infected with the novel coronavirus, leaving the vast majority of the world’s population vulnerable to the related COVID-19 disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday. Mike Ryan, the WHO’s top emergency expert, told the agency’s Executive Board that outbreaks were surging in parts of southeast Asia and that cases and deaths were on the rise in parts of Europe and the eastern Mediterranean region. “Our current best estimates tell us about 10% of the global population may have been infected by this virus. It varies depending on country, it varies from urban to rural, it varies depending on groups. But what it does mean is that the vast majority of the world remains at risk,” Ryan said. “We are now heading into a difficult period. The disease continues to spread.” The WHO has submitted a list of experts to take part in an international mission to China to investigate the origin of coronavirus, for consideration by Chinese authorities, he said. The WHO has submitted a list of experts to take part in an international mission to China to investigate the origin of coronavirus, for consideration by Chinese authorities, he said.

Armenian and Azerbaijani forces exchanged heavy rocket and artillery fire as fighting intensified over Nagorno-Karabakh Sunday, with the breakaway region's capital and Azerbaijan's second-largest city hit. Armenia said that Nagorno-Karabakh's main city Stepanakert, was hit again and AFP journalists said there were regular explosions and clouds of black smoke rising in parts of the city. Azerbaijan's defence ministry said meanwhile that Armenian forces had shelled Ganja, a city of more than 330,000 in western Azerbaijan, with footage showing buildings in ruins. Each side accused the other of targeting civilian areas, as the conflict widened a week after heavy fighting broke out in the decades-old dispute over the ethnic-Armenian region. Armenia and Azerbaijan have resisted international calls for a ceasefire and clashes have intensified in recent days, with both sides claiming victories on the front and saying they are inflicting heavy losses. In a fiery address to the nation, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev set conditions for a halt to the fighting. He said that Armenian forces "must leave our territories, not in words but in deeds" and provide a timetable for a full withdrawal. Yerevan must also recognise the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, apologise to the Azerbaijani people and admit that the region is not part of Armenia, Aliyev said.

Kyrgyzstan officials began counting ballots from a parliamentary election on Sunday, as observers warned that economic woes caused by the coronavirus pandemic had laid fertile ground for vote buying and possible post-poll protests. Sixteen parties were competing for seats in the 120-member legislature, with several positioning themselves in opposition to President Sooronbai Jeenbekov, an ally of Russia. First results of the poll are expected later on Sunday, the Central Election Commission said. Jeenbekov, 61, will be hoping for a cooperative parliament as he plans for life after his single permitted term ends in 2023, knowing that his predecessor and former protege Almazbek Atambayev is currently languishing in jail. The pandemic has battered the already modest incomes of people in Kyrgyzstan, the second poorest of the countries to gain independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, and many observers warn the stage is set for massive ballot fraud by some well-resourced parties. The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development has projected GDP could fall by 9.5 percent in 2020, while trade with its giant neighbour China, an economic lifeline for the landlocked republic, has fallen by more than half since the start of the year. Jeenbekov, who met Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Sochi ahead of the polls, said on Saturday that Kyrgyzstan would not repeat a lockdown despite rising virus cases. He also appeared to criticise opposition parties "who gathered big numbers of people, 500 to 1,000" as part of their electoral campaigns. "Then they start saying authorities are putting pressure on them, taking away votes, and preventing them from working," Jeenbekov told state radio. Critics however say it is pro-government parties like Birimdik, which includes Jeenbekov's younger brother Asylbek Jeenbekov, that pose a risk of vote-buying. One video shared on social media on Sunday alleged the party had paid voters to wear specific face masks to help identify them to polling station staff. These voters were then handed a ballot with Birimdik already ticked, the video claimed. A Birimdik legal representative told AFP the party "does not engage in vote-buying" or put pressure on voters. The president and his predecessor Atambayev were former allies who fell out. Atambayev's arrest on corruption charges last year came despite an attempt by Putin to make peace between the pair. But analysts believe Russia, a destination for hundreds of thousands of Kyrgyz migrants and the operator of a military base in the country, can be confident of Kyrgyzstan's continued loyalty whatever happens in the vote. That is because "parties understand that our presidents are made with Russia's blessing", Rita Karasartova, a candidate for the outsider Reforma party, told AFP. Kyrgyzstan's parliament was given new powers in a 2010 constitutional overhaul that also limited any single party to a maximum of 65 out of 120 seats in the legislature. The constitution was passed on the heels of a popular uprising -- the second since independence -- and was designed to curb authoritarianism. But with the stakes high, many fear pro-government parties will look to muscle opposition forces out of the legislature, a move that could trigger protests. A form that allows citizens to change their place of voting has come under particular scrutiny, with critics saying it enables parties to coordinate vote buying campaigns. "It (enables) corruption. It helps (parties) to buy people. We need to get rid of this," said Oleg Kenzheev, 59 and unemployed. The Central Election Commission said nearly 500,000 of the 3.5 million electorate changed their place of voter registration ahead of the polls. Birimdik's closest rival in the vote is believed to be Mekenim Kyrgyzstan (My Homeland Kyrgyzstan), a wealthy party associated with a powerful clan whose figurehead Rayimbek Matraimov -- a former customs service official -- was the target of anti-corruption protests last year. One party not expected to make the parliament is the Social Democrats led by supporters of Atambayev, who was sentenced to 11 years in jail in June and has been charged in the murder of a special forces officer during an assault on the former president's compound last year. Yana Aliyeva, a 35-year-old doctor, told AFP she would vote for the party because of Atambayev's "bright personality" and the infrastructure projects -- mostly backed with Chinese loans -- that were completed during his reign.

Azerbaijan said on Sunday that Armenian forces had fired rockets at its second city of Ganja, killing one civilian and wounding four, and threatened to retaliate by destroying military targets inside Armenia. The developments marked a sharp escalation of the war in the South Caucasus that broke out one week ago. Until now, the main fighting has been between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave inside Azerbaijan, but it now threatens to spill over into a direct war with Armenia itself. “Azerbaijan will destroy military targets directly inside Armenia from which shelling of its population centres is taking place,” presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev said. He said there were also civilian casualties in another Azeri region, Beylagan, which borders Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia denied it had directed fire “of any kind” towards Azerbaijan. The leader of Nagorno-Karabakh said his forces had targeted a military airbase in Ganja but later stopped firing in order to avoid civilian casualties. The conflict threatens to drag in other regional powers as Azerbaijan is supported by Turkey, while Armenia has a defence pact with Russia. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said: “The attacks of Armenia targeting the civilians in Ganja...are a new manifestation of Armenia’s unlawful attitude. We condemn these attacks.” The fighting that broke out one week ago between Azeri and ethnic Armenian forces has intensified in the past two days and spread far beyond the breakaway Karabakh region. Ganja, with a population of 335,000, is about 100 km (60 miles) north of the Karabakh capital Stepanakert and 80 km from the Armenian city of Vardenis. Azerbaijan has previously accused Armenia of firing into its territory from Vardenis, and Yerevan has denied it. Armenia says two civilians were killed in and near Vardenis last week by cross-border fire from Azerbaijan. Armenia says Azerbaijan has used the airport in Ganja as a base for its warplanes to carry out bombing raids on Nagorno-Karabakh. FIGHTING SPREADS Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said on Twitter his forces had captured the town of Jabrail and several villages in what, if confirmed, would be a significant advance on the southern edge of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenian defence ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan dismissed the claim as “yet another fabrication”. Independent verification was not possible. Nagorno-Karabakh reported deaths and casualties among civilians in Stepanakert and Shushi as a result of Azeri shelling. The fighting that broke out one week ago between Azeri and ethnic Armenian forces has intensified in the past two days and spread far beyond the breakaway Karabakh region. Ganja, with a population of 335,000, is about 100 km (60 miles) north of the Karabakh capital Stepanakert and 80 km from the Armenian city of Vardenis. Azerbaijan has previously accused Armenia of firing into its territory from Vardenis, and Yerevan has denied it. Armenia says two civilians were killed in and near Vardenis last week by cross-border fire from Azerbaijan. Armenia says Azerbaijan has used the airport in Ganja as a base for its warplanes to carry out bombing raids on Nagorno-Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh leader Arayik Harutyunyan said his forces would target Azeri cities. “Permanent military units located in the large cities of Azerbaijan from now on become the targets of the defence army,” he said. HEAVY CASUALTIES Casualties from the past week’s fighting have run into the hundreds, although precise figures are impossible to obtain. Armenia said the Karabakh cities of Stepanakert and Martakert were under attack by Azerbaijan’s air force and from long-range missiles. Each side accused the other of targeting civilians. Ignoring appeals from Russia, the United States, France and the EU to call a ceasefire, the opposing sides have stepped up hostilities over the weekend, with an accompanying rise in aggressive rhetoric. Armenia said on Saturday it would use “all necessary means” to protect ethnic Armenians from attack by Azerbaijan, and its prime minster compared the struggle with a 20th century war against Ottoman Turkey. Azerbaijan said on Saturday its forces had captured a string of villages. Armenia acknowledged that ethnic Armenian fighters were under pressure in some places and said the situation on the ground was fluctuating. The clashes are the worst since the 1990s, when some 30,000 people were killed. They have raised international concern about stability in the South Caucasus, where pipelines carry Azeri oil and gas to world markets.