Armenia, Azerbaijan accused of violating new ceasefire (Ld)

Yerevan/Baku, Oct 18 : Armenia and Azerbaijan on Sunday accused each other of violating a new ceasefire that came into force in the conflict-ridden Nagorno-Karabakh region just hours earlier.
The Armenian Defence Ministry claimed that Azerbaijan broke the ceasefire just four minutes after it was enforced at 12 a.m., by firing artillery shells and rockets, the BBC reported.
“The enemy fired artillery shells in the northern direction from 12.04 a.m. to 2.45 a.m. (local time) and fired rockets in the southern direction from 2.20-2.45 a.m.,” Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said on Twitter.
She later said that Azerbaijan launched an assault in the south of Nagorno-Karabakh on Sunday morning.
“There are casualties and wounded on both sides.” Reacting to the development, Armenia’s Foreign Ministry said that this was the second time that Azerbaijan had broken a ceasefire, adding that it would take all “necessary measures” to bring about a ceasefire and ways of enforcing it “on the ground”.