Page 9 - ATODAY

WORLD NEWS 9
Tensions run high between Azerbaijan, Armenia despite truce
V. ISACHENKOV
Associated Press
MOSCOW (AP) — More
than two decades after a
conflict killed about 30,000
people and displaced 1
million others, tensions be-
tween Armenia and Azer-
baijan over the region of
Nagorno-Karabakh have
exploded again, with both
sides engaged in artillery
duels, rocket barrages and
tank attacks.
A cease-fire declared Tues-
day after three days of in-
tense battles raised hopes
for restoring calm to the
area in the South Caucasus
mountains. But fears loom
of a possible escalation in
fighting, with Turkey strong-
ly backing Azerbaijan and
Russia obliged to protect
Armenia by a mutual secu-
rity pact.
Clashes that began over
the weekend marked the
worst violence since a sep-
aratist war ended in 1994
and left Nagorno-Kara-
bakh — officially a part of
Azerbaijan — under the
control of local ethnic Ar-
menian forces and the Ar-
menian military. Armenian
forces also occupy several
Libya’s Tripoli-based government says will ‘cease duties’
SAMI MOHAMMED
Associated Press
TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — One
of Libya’s rival governments
resigned on Tuesday, a
step that helps efforts by
a new, U.N.-brokered unity
government to assert itself
in the capitol, Tripoli, de-
spite opposition from some
local militias.
In a statement, the Tripoli-
based National Salvation
Government said it would
“cease duties” as execu-
tive authority, and there-
fore absolve itself of re-
sponsibility for the country’s Libya has been dominated
fate.
“We put the interests of
the nation above anything
Wednesday 6 April 2016

areas outside the Kara- Endowment, wrote in a country’s oil fortunes has fighting, residents enthusi-
bakh region. commentary. tested public support for his astically welcomed the ac-
Peace talks under the aus- Azerbaijani leaders in Baku government. tion against the Armenian
pices of the Organization long have promised to win The operation in Karabakh forces, hoping Azerbaijan
for Security and Coopera-
tion in Europe, co-spon- Nagorno-Karabakh army artillerymen prepare to open fire from a howitzer on positions in Na-
sored by Russia, the United gorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Tuesday, April 5, 2016. Azerbaijan forces and separatist forces in
States and France, have Nagorno-Karabakh agreed on a cease-fire Tuesday following three days of the heaviest fighting
dragged on ever since in the region since 1994, the Azeri defense ministry announced.
without producing any vis-
ible results. (Vahan Stepanyan/PAN Photo via AP)
While Armenia appeared
happy with the status quo, back the occupied lands, was well-received in Azer- could win back the occu-
energy-rich Azerbaijan, and President Ilham Aliyev baijan. In the village of pied territories.
which has lost control of may have been forced to Gapanli, one of the areas “This is our land,” said vil-
about one-seventh of its act while a reversal in the hit hardest by the current lager Elmar Abdullayev.q
territory in the conflict, has
been desperate to change
the situation.
Both countries blamed
each other for the latest
hostilities, but many observ-
ers believe that Azerbai-
jan’s military unleashed an
offensive aiming to seize
some ground in order to
make Armenia more likely
to discuss a compromise in
peace talks.
“Baku knows that one of
its few tools of pressure on
the Armenians is to violate
the cease-fire and remind
them that the status quo
can be shaken,” Thomas
de Waal, an expert on the
region with the Carnegie

else, and stress that the dictator Moammar Gad- Tuesday’s decision came by a population tired of
bloodshed stop and the hafi. after discussions between war.
nation be saved from divi- Tuesday’s move came af- his office and the Cabinet The U.S. and its European al-
sion and fragmentation,” ter the European Union on ways to stop the blood- lies hope the U.N.-backed
the statement read. slapped sanctions on three shed in Libya’s civil war. government can unify the
Western nations view the Libyan officials, including The head of the new gov- country and serve as an
new government as the Prime Minister Khalifa Gh- ernment, Fayez Serraj, ar- ally against IS. U.S. special
best hope for ending Lib- weil of the Islamist-backed rived in Tripoli by sea last forces have been on the
ya’s chaos and uniting all government in Tripoli, for week to set up a temporary ground, working with Lib-
factions against an increas- what it described as hin- seat of power in a naval yan officials, and U.S. war-
ingly powerful Islamic State dering the new unity gov- base despite threats from planes have carried out
affiliate, which has seized ernment from beginning its competing factions, which airstrikes.
the central city of Sirte. An- work. prevented him from arriv- Libyan officials say small
other government, based The others sanctioned are ing by air. teams of French, British and
in the eastern city of To- Agilah Saleh, parliament U.S. Secretary of State John Italian commandos are
bruk, still opposes the U.N.- head in Tobruk, and Nuri Kerry has welcomed Ser- also on the ground helping
backed body. Abu Sahmain, who leads raj’s arrival, as did the U.N. militiamen battling IS in the
the outdated General Na- envoy to Libya, Martin Ko- eastern city of Benghazi,
by an array of militias since tional Congress. bler, who was in Tripoli on though those three coun-
the 2011 uprising that top- Hassan al-Sgear, the head Tuesday and said he re- tries have not confirmed
pled and killed longtime of Ghweil’s office, said ceived a warm welcome their presence.q