A cease-fire between Armenia and Azerbaijan went into effect at noon local time (0800 GMT) on Saturday, putting an end, at least temporarily, to the deadly hostilities over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Official sources on both sides accused each other of firing missiles and rockets at civilian areas in the hours leading up to Saturday’s cease-fire.
Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to a ceasefire in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region after ten hours of talks in Moscow. The ceasefire will allow the two sides to exchange prisoners and search for the bodies of the dead.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who mediated the ceasefire, said the ceasefire should pave the way for negotiations on a further settlement of the conflict.
After nearly two weeks of armed conflict, the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan held talks at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Friday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet noted that the fighting has caused a large number of civilian casualties. She called for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
In a statement, Bachelet said, “Extremely worrying are reports that some densely populated areas in the conflict zone have been targeted in recent days and shelled with heavy weapons.”
Bachelet’s office said it has received but unconfirmed reports that more than 50 civilians, including children, have been killed since the clashes began on Sept. 27. The clashes have also resulted in the deaths of some 400 soldiers and thousands of people forced to flee their homes.
The predominantly Armenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh declared its independence from Azerbaijan during the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, sparking a war that claimed 30,000 lives before a ceasefire in 1994. However, the Nagorno-Karabakh region’s independence was not internationally recognized.
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