Azerbaijani Town Reportedly Falls to Armenian Troops
Armenian and Nagorno-Karabakh troops drove to within a mile of the highly strategic Azerbaijani town of Kelbajar on Thursday, news agencies reported, and sources said the town fell late in the day.
Buildings in the town were on fire and thousands were trying to flee into the surrounding mountains, reports said of the fierce fighting, which is part of the two countries’ war over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave.
Armenia began an offensive into Azerbaijan on Wednesday, stepping up the five-year battle for the secessionist, mainly Christian Armenian enclave inside Muslim Azerbaijan.
Beleaguered Azerbaijan, meanwhile, accused the United Nations of neglecting the war over the enclave and the broader fighting it has spawned.
The war has left about 3,000 people dead and tens of thousands homeless.
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