Missile strikes allegedly conducted by Armenian soldiers pummeled several areas near the Nagorno-Karabakh region killing 21 people. Azerbaijan openly accused Armenia of the attack, the deadliest one against civilians so far since fighting erupted more than a month ago.
Armenian officials denied that its soldiers had carried out the attack in the Barda district, located near the frontlines. It also denied carrying our similar strikes on civilian areas near Karabakh.
Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev said that Armenian soldiers fired BM-30 Smerch missiles aimed at causing as many civilian casualties as possible. Azerbaijan officials further claimed that one of the missiles had hit densely populated areas and a shopping district in the town of Barda. Apart from the loss of lives, the bombardment also caused massive infrastructure damage.
The deadly attack comes just days after the U.S. had brokered a truce between the two nations, the third of its kind brokered in just a span of one month. The previous two ceasefire agreements were brokered by Russia after President Vladimir Putin personally invited officials to Moscow to hold peace talks.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a meeting with his French counterpart Jean-Yves le Drian on Wednesday to come up with a plan to end the violence in the region. Lavrov said during the meeting that it was important that both sides show "political will" to end their dispute.
Fighting initially broke out on September 27 and has continued despite foreign interference. The continued attacks have killed hundreds of soldiers and civilians on both sides, resulting in foreign leaders calling on officials to conduct negotiations on humanitarian grounds. The Minsk Group, comprised of Russia, the U.S., and France, have announced plans to meet in Geneva on Thursday to discuss the situation.
The International Committee of the Red Cross published a post on social media on Wednesday claiming that one of its volunteers, a father of two, had been killed during the bombardments. The group said that the attacks on urban areas by both sides are "unacceptable" and hundreds of lives could be lost as the fighting escalates at "an alarming rate."
