Karabakh fighting: More casualties reported

Dozens have been reported killed as Republic of Azerbaijan and Republic of Armenia continue fighting in the South Caucasus breakaway region of Karabakh.

According to Press TV, six days after a decades-long territorial dispute prompted the heaviest fighting between Azerbaijan’s military and Armenian-backed forces in years, Baku says it will keep fighting until Armenian forces “fully” withdraw from the region.

On Friday, the Armenian-backed forces reported 54 more military casualties, bringing the death toll to 158, according to Russia’s Interfax news agency.

They said that the fighting was going on all along the front-line after "a relatively calmer night.”

Armenia's defense ministry said Karabakh air defense systems had shot down an Azeri warplane and two drones, an online government platform reported.

An Armenian official said Azerbaijani forces on Friday struck Khankendi, the main city in Karabakh which Armenians call Stepanakert, wounding "many" people.

"There are many wounded among civilian population, civilian infrastructure is damaged," Armenian Defense Ministry Spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan said on Facebook without providing further details.

The separatist government in Khankendi said Azerbaijani forces destroyed a bridge linking Armenia to Karabakh.

Azerbaijan said Armenia must withdraw troops from Karabakh to end days of deadly fighting.

"If Armenia wants to see an end of this escalation of the situation... Armenia must end its occupation" of Karabakh, Hikmet Hajiyev, foreign affairs aide to the president of Azerbaijan, told reporters.

Since the violence broke out, both sides have imposed martial law and announced mobilizations of armed forces.  

SS