Azerbaijan ‘implementing genocide,’ Karabakh foreign minister says amid shelling

“Now we are witnessing how Azerbaijan, in order to implement its policy of genocide, is moving towards the physical destruction of the civilian population and the destruction of civilian objects,” Nagorno-Karabakh Foreign Minister Sergey Ghazaryan told CivilNet Tuesday.

“We demand the international community take effective steps very quickly to stop Azerbaijan's aggression,” Ghazaryan added.

Azerbaijan launched a “large-scale military offensive” against Nagorno-Karabakh around 1 p.m. Tuesday, according to the authorities in Stepanakert. That came after Baku said it was beginning “local anti-terrorist activities” in the region.

Read more: Air raid sirens blare in Stepanakert as Azerbaijan launches ‘anti-terrorist activities’