'THE LONG WAR: Fight For Nagorno-Karabakh' zReportage #757 by Award winning ZUMA Press Photographer Celestino Arce who is covering this breaking story in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, also there are TASS News Agency photographers Sergei Bobylev and Valery Sharifulin: One of the world's longest-standing frozen conflicts has now flared up into war. The risk of wider military conflict is escalating in Nagorno-Karabakh, the border region claimed by both Armenia and Azerbaijan, due to the failure of mediation efforts, increased militarization, and frequent cease-fire violations. In late September 2020, heavy fighting broke out along the border-the most serious escalation since 2016. More than three hundred soldiers and civilians have been killed, with hundreds more wounded on both sides. Although UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the UN Security Council, and countries like the United States and Russia have called for an end to hostilities, Armenia and Azerbaijan have rejected pressure to hold talks. Instead, they have pledged to continue fighting and have further escalated tensions by switching from cross-border shelling to the use of longer-range artillery and other heavy weaponry. Welcome to: 'THE LONG WAR: Fight For Nagorno-Karabakh'
© Story of the Week of October 13, 2020 on zReportage.com: 'THE LONG WAR: Fight For Nagorno-Karabakh' zReportage #757 by Award winning ZUMA Press Photographer Celestino Arce who is covering this breaking story in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, also there are TASS News Agency photographers Sergei Bobylev and Valery Sharifulin: One of the world's longest-standing frozen conflicts has now flared up into war. The risk of wider military conflict is escalating in Nagorno-Karabakh, the border region claimed by both Armenia and Azerbaijan, due to the failure of mediation efforts, increased militarization, and frequent cease-fire violations. In late September 2020, heavy fighting broke out along the border-the most serious escalation since 2016. More than three hundred soldiers and civilians have been killed, with hundreds more wounded on both sides. Although UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the UN Security Council, and countries like the United States and Russia have called for an end to hostilities, Armenia and Azerbaijan have rejected pressure to hold talks. Instead, they have pledged to continue fighting and have further escalated tensions by switching from cross-border shelling to the use of longer-range artillery and other heavy weaponry. Welcome to: 'THE LONG WAR: Fight For Nagorno-Karabakh'
An Armenian serviceman sits on a bus with volunteers and other soldiers ahead of being deployed to the front line. Both Azerbaijan and Armenia have declared martial law and military mobilization. Nagorno-Karabakh has been a frozen conflict for more than a decade, but recent artillery shelling and skirmishes between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops have already caused hundreds of deaths.
© Sergei Bobylev/TASS via ZUMA Press
Smoke rises over the city of Stepanakert after a rocket attack. The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh escalated on September 27, 2020, with reports from Yerevan on the Azerbaijani troops advancing in the direction of Nagorno-Karabakh and shelling its settlements, including the capital city of Stepanakert. Both Azerbaijan and Armenia have declared martial law and military mobilization.
© Sergei Bobylev/TASS via ZUMA Press
A civilian runs for cover past a bullet ridden building during shelling by the Azerbaijan army in the city of Martuni during the conflict with Nagorno Karbakh.
© Celestino Arce Lavin/ZUMA Wire
A woman weeps as she takes refuge in a bomb shelter in Stepanakert. Both Azerbaijan and Armenia have declared martial law and mobilized their armed forces, reporting on casualties and injuries among military and also civilians.
© Sergei Bobylev/TASS via ZUMA Press
A man walks past a building on fire after being struck by a Azerbaijani rocket in Stepanakert city during the conflict between Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh.
© Celestino Arce Lavin/ZUMA Wire
Seen through a shattered glass window, an Armenian cathedral still stands after being damaged in a rocket attack.
© Sergei Bobylev/TASS via ZUMA Press
A priest blesses Armenian volunteers and regular military personnel on a bus ahead of their deployment to the front line in Nagorno-Karabakh. Both Azerbaijan and Armenia have declared martial law and full military mobilization.
© Sergei Bobylev/TASS via ZUMA Press
Local residents come out from their homes to look at an unexploded Soviet era Smerch rocket sticking out of the ground after a bombing attack.
© Sergei Bobylev/TASS via ZUMA Press
Men carry the flag draped coffin for an Azerbaijani serviceman during his funeral ceremony. He died in action in one of the villages bordering on Nagorno-Karabakh fighting Azerbaijani troops.
© Valery Sharifulin/TASS via ZUMA Press
A evacuee prays during a religious service in a bomb shelter. Hundreds of soldiers and an unknown number of civilians have been killed since fighting broke out last month in the long disputed region.
© Sergei Bobylev/TASS via ZUMA Press
Caution tape surrounds a Soviet era rocket sticking out of the ground near the Ministry of Culture during a missile strike in the city of Shushi.
© Sergei Bobylev/TASS via ZUMA Press
A man helps an elderly woman through the rubble near her home after rocket attack in the village of Gyandzha.
© Valery Sharifulin/TASS via ZUMA Press
A man walks through the shell his destroyed house after an Azerbaijani rocket during combat between Nagorno Karabakh fighters and the Azerbaijan military.
© Celestino Arce Lavin/ZUMA Wire
Seen through a hole in a wall, civilians take shelter in the basement of a building of Stepanakert during Azerbaijani shelling of the town in Nagorno Karabakh.
© Celestino Arce Lavin/ZUMA Wire
Five women sit at a table under candlelight in a basement which they use as a bomb shelter in Stepanakert. The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh escalated with reports of heavy shelling and civilian casualties.
© Sergei Bobylev/TASS via ZUMA Press
An elderly grandmother sits with a rifle in the entrance of her home during shelling by the Azerbian army over the city of Stepanakert. She proudly stated she would 'defend her home until the end.'
© Celestino Arce Lavin/ZUMA Wire
Police officers stand beside an unexploded Soviet era BM-30 Smerch rocket sticking out of the ground near the Mingachevir Hydro Power Station after a missile attack.
© Valery Sharifulin/TASS via ZUMA Press
An unexploded Soviet era rocket nailed on the ground of a road in Stepanakert after shelling in the area between the Azerbaijan army and Nagorno-Karabakh fighters.
© Celestino Arce Lavin/ZUMA Wire
A woman with a child strapped to her back waiting out a missile attack on outskirts of the town of Aghjabedi. They were avoiding buildings that could become targets by sheltering at a tent camp.
© Valery Sharifulin/TASS via ZUMA Press
An injured woman brought to hospital. Hundreds of soldiers and an unknown number of civilians have been killed since fighting broke out last month.
© Valery Sharifulin/TASS via ZUMA Press
Families including women and children, run to buses for their evacuation to Yerevan after increased shelling over the city of Stepanakert during the conflict between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan.
© Celestino Arce Lavin/ZUMA Wire
Emotions run high in a bomb shelter beneath the town of Shushi after an air attack siren sounded during a suspected Azerbaijan drone bombing attack in Nagorno Karabakh.
© Celestino Arce Lavin/ZUMA Wire
A young girl makes coffee as residents take cover in a bomb shelter in Stepanakert.
© Sergei Bobylev/TASS via ZUMA Press
A man stands beside an unexploded missile stuck in the ground, at the town of Ivanyan after a shelling attack by Azerbaijan forces. Nagorno-Karabakh has been a frozen conflict for more than a decade, but artillery shelling and minor skirmishes between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops have re-ignited the region.
© Vakhram Bagdasaryan/TASS via ZUMA Press
