Saeed Pourreza
Press TV, London
The bloody conflict between the two longtime foes has entered its second week with the fighting getting closer to civilians areas on either side of the line of contact. The latest call for a ceasefire, from NATO, calling on Turkey to use its influence to restore peace.
The fighting is taking place on two fronts; On the ground and in the media. Nagorno-Karabakh’s Human Rights Ombudsman has accused Azerbaijan's armed forces of targeting civilian areas in the self-proclaimed territory’s capital Stepanakert:
Azerbaijan says Armenian forces fired rockets at its second city of Ganja on the weekend, killing one civilian and wounding four.
Armenia denies launching anything into Azeri territory. The self-declared republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, internationally recognized as Azeri territory, has a majority ethnic Armenian population and relies on Armenia for support.
Azerbaijan has vowed to retake what it calls Azeri territory and says it’s ready to eliminate any threats coming from Armenian soil.
The Armenians meantime say they’re ready to work with mediators while warning any aggression toward Nagorno-Karabakh will receive a resolute response.
The fighting began last Sunday and has surged to its worst level since the 1990s, when some 30,000 people were killed. With both sides setting conditions for any possible negotiations, the fighting now threatens to spiral into a direct war with Armenia itself with ramifications for the entire region and beyond.