© Hrayr Badalyan / SputnikVolunteers at the collecting station in the town of Askeran in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Comment: The Armenian MOD saw this ceasefire what it was: a lie and a trap. It's just an excuse to "self-defense" the hell out of the Armenians, following the tried-and-tested Israeli model.
The fighting is ongoing on the frontline in Nagorny-Karabakh, Armenia's Defence Ministry said, as cited by TASS.
Martakert region head, Vladik Khachataryan, said shelling is continuously ongoing from the eastern side. Several shells apparently fired by Azeri forces hit Martakert town center. In the last 24 hours, the town has reportedly been hit by 25 shells.
Comment: Russian State Duma VP Sergei Zheleznyak described these recent events as provocations from a "third force" -- "the same warmongering people who fuel conflict in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Caucasus, unhappy with the success achieved by Moscow and its Syrian allies in keeping peace in the Arab country and the struggle against terrorism." Hmm, wonder whom he could be referring to here! "At night in the mountains you only need to have a small, well-trained group that, aware of the balance of power, stirs up reciprocal fire in 'response'."
According to social media reports, residents are leaving the city, which is some three kilometers from the frontline.
Sputnik Armenia news outlet journalists came under fire when entering the city of Martakert, the media says. The journalists weren't injured.
The Armenian Defense Ministry said in a statement that heavy clashes are continuing in the northern and southern sections of the contact line, adding that Azerbaijan has "concentrated sizeable forces" in various parts of the frontline. However, the ministry stressed Armenian forces hold the upper hand.
The ministry also said that Armenia's forces launched a counter offensive and seized a height of tactical value near the village of Talish in the Martakert region of Nagorny-Karabakh, "which was occupied earlier by Azerbaijani troops."
Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan accused Turkey of tacitly supporting the continuation of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Kocharyan said: "Turkey's racist stance only adds fire to the violence" in Nagorny-Karabach.
At the same time, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry accused the Armenian side of intensive shelling of settlements along the contact line and ceasefire violations.
Azerbaijan also opened a criminal case after two civilians were killed and 10 more were wounded in Armenia's shelling of settlements near the contact line in Nagorny-Karabakh, the Azeri general prosecutor's office and the Interior ministry said in a statement.
On Friday night, hostilities sharply escalated in Nagorny-Karabakh, a breakaway Azeri region with a predominantly Armenian population that fought a war of independence in the 1990s. Azerbaijan and Armenia accused each other of provoking the escalation.
Dozens are thought to have been killed or injured in the latest violence, although the exact number of casualties remains unknown as it cannot be independently verified at the moment.
Comment: Armenia had nothing to gain by capturing any more of Nagorny-Karabakh than they already had. It is in their interests to maintain the status quo. Azerbaijan, on the other hand, wants back the "occupied territories". But the Azeris don't have much to gain either -- there's no guarantee they'd be successful in any major military offensive. So is this just a bit of chest-thumping to remind the international community? Or is something like Zheleznyak's "third force" at work here?
NATO is trying to cozy up to Armenia in order to encircle Russia. Did the Armenians refuse one of their 'offers'?