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Fighting Between Armenia and Azerbaijan Extends Beyond Borders of Disputed
Region

VOA News

   The fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over
   Nagorno-Karabakh spilled over the disputed region's borders Sunday.

   Hikmet Hajiyev, an aide to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, said
   Armenian forces shelledAzerbaijan's second-largest city of Ganja with
   heavy artillery and rockets, killing one person and injuring 32 others.
   Hajiyev also said Armenian forces also targeted the industrial city of
   Mingachevir and other smaller towns.

   Hajiyev's claims were denied by Armenian defense forces,
   butArayikHarutyunyan, the leader of the contested Nagorno-Karabakh,
   said in a post on Facebook that his forces targeted military objects in
   Ganja before he ordered them to stop to avoid killing civilians.
   Harutyunyan warned that his forces would begin targeting other large
   cities in Azerbaijani and urged those cities to evacuate immediately.

   Authorities in the breakaway territory have warned that the "last
   battle" for the region has begun. They called on the international
   community Saturday to "recognize the independence" of Nagorno-Karabakh
   as "the only effective mechanism to restore peace."

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