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Armenia–Azerbaijan conflict

Two Le Monde journalists injured in shelling in Nagorno-Karabakh, Yerevan says

According to the report, Armenia TV channel cameraman was also lightly injured in the shelling

Damaged building after the shelling in Martuni, Nagorno-Karabakh Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure via REUTERS

Damaged building after the shelling in Martuni, Nagorno-Karabakh

© Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure via REUTERS

YEREVAN, October 1. /TASS/. Two journalists of French Le Monde newspaper were injured Thursday in a shelling in Nagorno-Karabakh by the Azerbaijani armed forces, the Armenian government united information center reports.

"Two Le Monde journalists were injured following a shelling by the Azerbaijani armed forces in the city of Martuni [eastern part of Nagorno-Karabakh - TASS]. They are citizens of France; they are currently being transported to the Martuni city hospital," the report says.

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According to the report, Armenia TV channel cameraman Aram Grigoryan was also lightly injured in the shelling. On Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia reported that over 200 foreign journalists are currently in the republic.

Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The area experienced flare-ups of violence in the summer of 2014, in April 2016 and this past July. Azerbaijan and Armenia have imposed martial law and launched mobilization efforts. Both parties to the conflict have reported casualties, among them civilians.

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the highland region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that had been part of Azerbaijan before the Soviet Union break-up, but primarily populated by ethnic Armenians, broke out in February 1988 after the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1992-1994, tensions boiled over and exploded into large-scale military action for control over the enclave and seven adjacent territories after Azerbaijan lost control of them. Talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement have been ongoing since 1992 under the OSCE Minsk Group, led by its three co-chairs - Russia, France and the United States.

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