Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other on Tuesday of violating a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, stoking fears of a humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
The Russia-brokered truce buckled despite international calls for the neighbours to strengthen their commitment to it.
Turkey and Armenia swapped recriminations, each blaming the other for making the crisis worse. Nagorno-Karabakh is recognised as part of Azerbaijan but is governed and populated by ethnic Armenians.
On Tuesday, a Reuters cameraman said he watched shelling of the Nagorno-Karabakh town of Martuni, while a television crew from the agency in the Azeri city of Terter said it had been shelled.
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Retired police officer Guennadi Avanessian, 73, searches for belongings in the remains of his house, which he said was destroyed by Azeri shelling, in the city of Stepanakert. AFP -
Women, whose houses are damaged, sit near the blast site hit by a rocket during the fighting over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the city of Ganja, Azerbaijan. Reuters -
Razim Mehmedov, 40, holding his daughter's backpack stands in his flat that was damaged and burnt by shelling as residents return to their homes after a ceasefire in the military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, in the town of Terter, Azerbaijan. AFP -
Ashot Aghajanian, 54, stands in the yard of his house destroyed by shelling in Stepanakert. AFP -
Men are seen next to a house damaged by recent shelling during the military conflict over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, in Stepanakert. Reuters -
A woman searches for belongings in her damaged house hit by a rocket during the fighting over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the city of Ganja, Azerbaijan. Reuters -
Women are distraught after fighting broke out in the city of Ganja, Azerbaijan. AFP -
A shop owner stands in front of his destroyed premises in Ganja. Reuters -
A damaged car in Ganja. Reuters -
Xatire Celilova stands inside her destroyed flat after a ceasefire, in Terter, Azerbaijan. AFP -
Razim Mehmedov, 40, sits in a bedroom of his flat that was damaged and burnt by shelling as residents return to their homes in Terter. AFP -
Yasin Budakov, 40, holds a book, which his child forgot to take when they were running out of the family’s damaged flat in Terter. AFP -
A man watches rescuers searching for victims or survivors at a blast site in the city of Ganja. AFP
The Azerbaijan government accused Armenia of "grossly violating the humanitarian truce" which was agreed on Saturday to allow the sides to swap prisoners and repatriate those killed in the fighting.
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 Azerbaijan had resumed military operations "supported by active artillery fire in the southern, northern, northeastern and eastern directions".
The fighting, which broke out on September 27, is the worst since a war over Nagorno-Karabakh in 1994 killed about 30,000 people.
The conflict is closely watched abroad because of fears Russia and Turkey could drawn in. Russia has a defence pact with Armenia, while Turkey is allied with Azerbaijan.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accused Turkey of muscling its way into the South Caucasus region to further what he called its expansionist ambitions. Turkey denied this.
