UN Chief calls for negotiations following Nagorno-Karabakh clashes


UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for negotiations following clashes in the post soviet autonomous region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The region has been the centre of a dispute between neighboring Armenia and Azerbaijan since gaining independence in the early 1990s.

According to media reports, Azerbaijan has announced a "unilateral cease-fire" but fighting was still ongoing.

In a statement released by his Spokesperson, Ban Ki-moon asked all parties in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to take urgent steps to de-escalate the situation.

Large-scale ceasefire violations were reported Saturday along the demilitarized buffer zone between Armenia and Azerbaijan known as the Line of Contact.

Heavy weapons were used during the fighting, described by media reports as "one of the worst" outbreaks of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh since 1994.

A large number of casualties, including among civilians has been reported.

The Minsk Group, an international panel including France, Russia and the United States, has been trying to end hostilities in the region along with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).


SOURCE: Jocelyne Sambira, United Nations.