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Azerbaijan has announced a unilateral cease-fire in 

, where a recent flare-up of violence between Azerbaijani and separatist Armenian forces has left dozens of people dead.


Separatist forces reject Azerbaijan's claims of a cease-fire, saying they see no sign that the government has stopped fighting, the Associated Press reports.

The cease-fire announcement comes two days after a fresh wave of violence broke out in Nagorno-Karabakh, killing at least 30 Azeri and Armenian troops.

2006: No End in Sight to Fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh

 that civilian casualties have been reported on both sides.


A separatist war in the region in the late '80s and early '90s killed 30,000 and displaced a million people. For the last two decades, Nagorno-Karabakh has been controlled by ethnic Armenian separatists, with a cease-fire in place that has been periodically violated.

This weekend's fighting is some of the worst since that cease-fire was imposed, the BBC reports.

The cause of the renewed violence isn't clear; both sides point to the other as the source of provocation. The BBC notes that "nationalist sentiment boosted by pro-government media in both societies has been at its height in recent years."

The AP provides some background on the conflict:

Stability in the southern Caucusus, which numerous pipelines cross through, is "a major strategic objective" for the region's oil producers, including Azerbaijan, Reuters writes:

Dozens died this weekend in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, which ethnic Armenian separatists have controlled for two decades. Separatists say they've seen no sign of the promised cease-fire.

Azerbaijan announces unilateral cease-fire after sudden flare-up of violence

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