As Azeri-Armenian conflict intensifies, woman & child killed & dozens of civilians injured in shelling – Nagorno-Karabakh official

Numerous civilians have been killed or injured amid renewed Azeri-Armenian hostilities over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, local officials reported on Sunday. The news came as Armenia declared martial law.

Yerevan, which backs the de facto government of the enclave, regarded as the territory of Azerbaijan internationally, also issued a mass conscription order. 

“There have been dozens of injured among civilians, the enemy shelling was hitting mostly residential areas,” Vagram Poghosyan, spokesman for Nagorno-Karabakh's president Arayik Harutyunyan, told the media on Sunday.

“Unfortunately, we’ve also had two victims, a woman, and a child,” he added. Just as he spoke, a video emerged online, allegedly showing the scale of destruction inside the disputed region. Apartment blocks are seen to have been damaged by the shelling, with gaping holes in concrete walls. 

Separately, Samvel Babayan, head of the Nagorno-Karabakh security council, told the media that at least 10 troops have been killed in action. The death toll will be adjusted as the day progresses, he said.

Hostilities broke out earlier in the day along the region’s frontline, with Armenia accusing Azerbaijan of launching a full-blown offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku, in turn, countered by saying the country’s armed forces are on a counteroffensive to protect the population against Armenian attacks.

Meanwhile, the Armenian-populated enclave that broke from Azerbaijan in the early 1990s, announced that all adult males will be mobilized and that martial law will be declared starting on Sunday.

Armenia followed suit later in the day, obliging all men of conscription age to report to their nearest recruitment offices. Martial law has also been declared, with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan telling compatriots to “be ready to defend our sacred homeland.”

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