Middle East

Heavy Fighting Carries On Between Armenia And Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan says it'll stop the war when Armenia leaves.

Heavy Fighting Carries On Between Armenia And Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry / AP
SMS

Heavy fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan is carrying on. The two sides have released conflicting death tallies for civilians and soldiers, with estimates ranging from over 100 to thousands.

On Saturday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev criticized international mediators who have been trying to ease the tension for decades.

The conflict is over the disputed province Nagorno-Karabakh. Aliyev says he'll stop the war when Armenia leaves the territory, saying: "I think [the] Armenian government overestimated their so-called importance on global arena, overestimated the possible international support to them, and made very serious mistakes provoking us, attacking us, and now they are suffering the very serious defeat."

Armenia says Azerbaijan kicked off the fighting last weekend by launching missiles, while Azerbaijan says Armenia started the conflict by shelling civilian areas. 

This is the worst the ongoing conflict has been since a war over the territory ended in 1994, leaving oil-rich Azerbaijani land under Armenian control.