Again dead and injured in new fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh - cathedral damaged

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Heavily damaged Ghazanchezoz Cathedral in the city of Shusha

Photo: David Ghahramanyan / dpa

New heavy fighting in the conflict region Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus resulted in further deaths and injuries.

According to Armenian information, 30 more soldiers were killed between Wednesday and Thursday, bringing the number of dead to 350.

Azerbaijan has so far not provided any information on losses in its own ranks.

Since the new confrontation began more than a week and a half ago, at least 31 civilians have been killed.

Badly damaged cathedral in Shusha

According to the Armenian Defense Ministry, the Shusha city cathedral was also shelled.

Two Russian journalists were seriously injured.

The condition of one of the two is critical.

The army released pictures of major damage to the church.

According to the AFP news agency, Azerbaijan denied responsibility for the shelling of Ghazanchezoz Cathedral.

This has "nothing to do with the military actions of the Azerbaijani army," said the Ministry of Defense in Baku.

"The Azerbaijani army does not target historical, cultural and especially religious buildings and monuments."

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Impacted rocket in Nagorno-Karabakh's capital Stepanakert (photo from the previous day)

Photo: STRINGER / REUTERS

Armenia also announced that Nagorno-Karabakh's capital, Stepanakert, had been fired at with rockets again.

Thousands of people are on the run.

The authorities of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic said there had been 22 civilian victims so far.

Around 145,000 people live in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in the south of the Caucasus.

Azerbaijan lost control of the area in a war that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union some 30 years ago.

It is now inhabited by Christian Karabakh Armenians.

A fragile ceasefire has existed since 1994.

Mediation in Geneva - and Moscow?

Russia, the USA and France are mediating in the conflict with the so-called Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov wanted to meet OSCE representatives in Geneva on Thursday and explain Baku's view.

Austria, however, offered itself as a "place of dialogue".

According to the Tass State Agency, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that a meeting at foreign ministerial level between Armenia and Azerbaijan with OSCE mediators is currently being negotiated.

Armenia's Foreign Minister did not want to attend the meeting with the OSCE anyway, according to AFP.

Instead, he wanted to take part in talks under the leadership of the Russian Foreign Minister in Moscow on Monday.

According to France and Russia, pro-Turkish militias from Syria and Libya are also involved in the fighting.

Turkey supports Azerbaijan in the war with weapons and personnel.

Russia has good relations with both sides, but is considered to be Armenia's military protective power.

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fek / dpa / AFP