Armenia-Azerbaijan ceasefire under severe strain as both sides allege violations and crimes in the country

Tensions remain after ceasefire in the region advocated by Putin 

Rescuers search for survivors at site hit by a rocket during the fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan(AFP via Getty Images )

A Russian-brokered humanitarian ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakhwas under severe strain on Sunday a day after it was agreed, with Azerbaijan and Armenia accusing each other of serious violations and crimes against civilians.

The ceasefire, clinched after marathon talks in Moscowadvocated by President Vladimir Putin, was meant to halt fighting to allow ethnic Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh and Azeri forces to swap prisoners and war dead.

The Moscow talks were the first diplomatic contact between the two since fighting over the mountainous enclave erupted on 27 September, killing hundreds of people.

The enclave is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but is populated and governed by ethnic Armenians.

Both sides accused one another of breaking the ceasefire almost immediately on Saturday, and Azerbaijan gave the impression in public comments from top officials that it saw it as only a brief and temporary breathing space anyway.

On Sunday, Azerbaijan accused Armenia of heavily shelling a residential area in Ganja, its second largest city, in the early hours of the morning, and of hitting an apartment building.

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