YEREVAN, October 15. /TASS/. The armed forces of Azerbaijan resumed their attacks in three areas of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone on Thursday, Armenian Defense Ministry Representative Artsrun Hovhannisyan told reporters.
"Throughout the day, heavy fighting continued along the entire line of contact, particularly in the southern zone, along the Aras River bank. We managed to drive back the enemy. Both sides are sustaining losses. The situation remains tense. The intensity of fire subsides at night," he said.
At the talks, brokered by Russia and held in Moscow on October 9, Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed a ceasefire. It came into effect at 12.00 local time on Saturday, October 10 for humanitarian reasons, for the exchange of detainees and recovery of war dead.
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.