Armenia and Azerbaijan accused one another of firing directly into each other’s territory and rejected pressure to hold peace talks as their conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region descends into war.

The incidents has escalated despite urgent appeals from Russia, United States and others to halt the fighting. 

Nagorno-Karabakh is a breakaway region inside Azerbaijan that is controlled by ethnic Armenians and backed by Armenia. It broke away from Azerbaijan in a war during the 1990s but is not recognised by any country as an independent republic.

The UN Security Council has “expressed concern” about the clashes and condemned the use of force and backed a call by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for an immediate halt to fighting.