Nagorno-Karabakh: Shelling dominates Martakert skyline as deadly clashes rage on

Shellfire dominated the skyline of Martakert on Monday afternoon, as hostilities continue to mount in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The hostilities in the region restarted on Friday night, with Armenia and Azerbaijan both blaming each other for the ceasefire violations. According to reports from Colonel Viktor Aroustamyan of the Artsakh Defence Army, 20 Armenians had died during the fighting as of Monday. At least 12 Azerbaijanis have been killed according to the most recent numbers released by the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry.
The first open conflict started in 1988, when Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly ethnic Armenian mountainous region, broke away from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic.
It declared independence in 1991, triggering a full-scale war which ended only after Russia brokered a ceasefire between the two countries in 1994. Clashes still break out periodically in the region, with the latest thought to be among the most serious since the 1994 truce.
Earlier on Monday Russia urged an immediate de-escalation of hostilities calling on Yerevan and Baku to stand their forces down. Diplomats from Russia, France, and the US are set to meet in Vienna on April 5 to discuss the latest escalation in the conflict.
Nagorno-Karabakh is recognised by the United Nations (UN) as being part of Azerbaijan but has been under the control of Armenian military and separatist forces since 1994.
Courtesy of "Hetq" Investigative Journalists http://hetq.am/eng/