Nagorno-Karabakh MoD: Azerbaijan Fires Mortars in Violation of Ceasefire

Azerbaijani forces have violated the ceasefire in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh early on Sunday by shelling enemy positions, the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic's (NKR) Defense Ministry said Saturday.

YEREVAN (Sputnik) — Armenia and Azeraijan have agreed to a ceasefire deal in Nagorno-Karabakh on April 5, after several days of intense fighting and losses on both sides.

"The ceasefire on the Karabakh-Azerbaijan contact line has generally been observed. Only the northern front line has seen enemy shelling involving 82-mm mortars and 122-mm D-30 howitzers," the ministry told RIA Novosti.

NKR forces have mainly refrained from retaliating against the attacks, the ministry added.

Tonight the ceasfire agreement was mostly kept, except for the Northern part, where #Azerbaijan used mortar & 122mm howitzer (2 projectile).

— Karabakh MOD (@Karabakh_MoD) April 10, 2016

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On April 2, Armenia and Azerbaijan declared a dramatic escalation of hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Baku and Yerevan traded blame for breaching the truce in the conflict and reported heavy fighting in the area.

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported shelling and numerous ceasefire violations by the Armenian armed forces. In turn, Armenia reported offensive actions from the Azerbaijani side.

Initially, the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988, when the Armenian-dominated autonomous region sought to secede from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, before proclaiming independence after the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991. The conflict escalated further in September 2015, with the sides blaming one another for violating the truce.