Update 2 16.00 CEST
There are reports of clashes during the day in the Tovuz/Tavush area of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
Armenia says a civilian has been injured and fighting is ongoing.
Meanwhile today both sides continued burying their dead. On the Armenian side the burial of an Army major killed in the fighting was attended by prime minister Nikol Pashinyan and other senior officials.
In Baku, president Aliyev has dismissed his long time foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov. In an video conference with the new minister, Jeyhun Bayramov, Aliyev instructed the Minister to make an overhaul of the foreign ministry and to lead a more assertive international effort.
Update 1 0830 CEST
Armenia and Azerbaijan are accusing each other of targeting civilian settlements as fighting erupted again early on Thursday morning (16 July).
Armenia defence ministry sources are saying that at 05.20 local time this morning Azerbaijani units started shelling the villages of Aygepar and Movses using a D-30 howitzer. This claim was also repeated by the Ombudsman of Armenia Arman Tatoyan. Tatoyan yesterday also said that Azerbaijan had targeted a factory in the town of Berd at a time when employees were working there.
On its part Azerbaijan says that this morning Armenian forces shelled the village of Dondar Gushchu, Agdam and Vahidli in the Tovuz region with mortars and large calibre weapons. Houses and private farms were severely damaged but no civilians were injured since they had already been evacuated.
Yesterday the Ombudsman of Azerbaijan, Sabina Aliyeva, said that shelling took place whilst she was visiting settlements in the Tovuz region. Azerbaijan also reported earlier that a 76 year old civilian had been killed by the shelling.
Both sides deny targeting civilian communities.
realted content: Increased risks to civilians on Armenia-Azerbaijan border
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This story will be updated throughout the day
There is renewed fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops at the northern sector of their international border. After a relatively quiet day on Wednesday, both sides confirm heavy fighting early on Thursday morning. Both sides accuse each other of targeting civilian settlements. Details are still coming.
On Wednesday, the OSCE Minsk Group met in Vienna, after which the co-chairmen issued a statement in which they said that "in accordance with the information available, the situation on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border remains relatively calm as of early morning 15 July" They welcomed the decrease in hostilities and appeal to the sides to make every effort to continue de-escalation.
The statement added:
"The Co-Chairs urge the sides to refrain from inflammatory rhetoric and attempts to change the situation on the ground. The Co-Chairs continue to stress the necessity of building up an atmosphere conducive to the restoration of the peace process. The Co-Chairs welcomed the confirmation of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan to hold substantive negotiations on crucial aspects of a Nagorno-Karabakh settlement as soon as possible and emphasized the importance of returning OSCE monitors to the region as soon as circumstances allow."
source: commonspace.eu with agencies
