The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned the continuing escalation of violence in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, reminding all sides of their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.
The Secretary-General "is gravely concerned by reports of the extension of hostilities, including the targeting of populated areas," read a statement issued by his spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric.
“He reminds all sides of their obligations to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure under international humanitarian law,” the statement added.
The Secretary-General also underlined that there is no military solution to the conflict and urged the sides to immediately cease all hostilities.
He appealed to all relevant regional and international actors to actively exercise their influence to achieve an urgent end to the fighting and return to negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.
The Armenian armed forces committed a large-scale provocation, subjecting the positions of the Azerbaijani army to intensive shelling from large-caliber weapons, mortars, and artillery installations of various calibers in the front-line zone on Sept. 27 at 05:00 (Msk).
