Armenia Says It Shot down Azerbaijani Drone near Capital
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Armenia's military said its has shot down an Azerbaijani drone near the capital on Thursday night, as heavy fighting persisted in the conflict over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
This week's fighting is the biggest escalation in years in the decades-long dispute over the region, which is inside the Azerbaijan Repubic but controlled by local ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia.
According to CTV, two French and two Armenian journalists were injured Thursday in the fighting.
Late Thursday, Armenia fired anti-aircraft missiles that took down a drone over the town of Abovian, about 16 kilometres (10 miles) north of the capital of Yerevan, said defence ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanian. No casualties were reported.
Azerbaijani forces reportedly have shelled other Armenian villages outside Nagorno-Karabakh.
Two Le Monde reporters were wounded in morning shelling in the town of Martuni, the newspaper said. Armenia's Foreign Ministry said they were being taken to a hospital and accused Azerbaijan of bombarding the region.
A cameraman with the Armenia TV channel and a reporter with the Armenian 24News outlet also were injured in the Martuni shelling, Armenian officials said. It was unclear how badly the four journalists were hurt. A Russian journalist with the independent Dozhd TV channel was reported to have reached a bomb shelter safely.
The clashes broke out Sunday in Nagorno-Karabakh, a region within Azerbaijan that has been controlled by Armenian forces since the end of a separatist war a quarter-century ago. Fighting has continued unchecked since then, killing dozens and leaving scores wounded. Armenian and Azerbaijani forces blame each other for continuing attacks.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry on Thursday said a civilian was killed and two were wounded when Azerbaijan fired on the town of Shatvan in Armenian territory.
Continued fighting in the turbulent region prompted calls for a cease-fire from around the globe and raised concerns of a broader conflict potentially involving other regional powers.
