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Armenia’s missile attack on civilians kills at least 10, injures 34 in Azerbaijan

At least 10 people have been killed in Armenian overnight bombardment of Azerbaijan’s second largest city of Ganja during a humanitarian ceasefire brokered by Russia between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Being a monument of the ancient culture and a major tourist destination in western Azerbaijan, Ganja has a population of 500,000 and is located over 70 km away from the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia.

Azerbaijan Prosecutors Office, in a written statement, announced that death toll from the overnight missile strike on the residential block in the densely populated city reached 10 people, including 4 women, and 34 injured civilians include 16 women and 6 children.

The prosecutors’ office also said the number of civilians that were killed by Armenian forces’ attacks between September 27 – October 11 rose to 42.

According to the statement, 205 civilians were injured, 1165 houses, 57 buildings, 146 public buildings were destroyed by Armenian missile strikes on civilians during this period.

The flareup in Nagarno Karabakh conflict started on Sept. 27 when Armenian forces targeted civilian Azerbaijani settlements and military positions in the region, leading to casualties.

The conflict takes its history back to 1990s when Armenia illegally occupied 20% of the territory of Azerbaijan.

Multiple U.N. resolutions, as well as by top international organizations, demanding the immediate withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the occupied forces have so far been ignored by Armenia.

The OSCE Minsk Group – co-chaired by France, Russia, and the US – was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, but to no avail.