MoD of Unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Rep Records 50 Truce Violations Overnight

A total of 50 ceasefire violations were documented in Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh overnight, the Defense Ministry of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic said Saturday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — It added that the Karabakh army fired back only when necessary.

"During the night of January 6-7, the ceasefire along the Karabakh-Azerbaijani line of contact was violated by Azerbaijani military forces 50 times. During this period more than 450 shots from small arms of various caliber were fired at Armenian positions," the statement of the ministry said.

Azerbaijan does not recognize the ethnically Armenian self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) and considers the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army to be a part of the Armed Forces of Armenia.

Violence in Nagorno-Karabakh escalated on April 2, 2016. A ceasefire was agreed on April 5, yet hostilities continued.

The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988, when the autonomous region declared exit from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, before proclaiming independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.