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New Delhi, India
Azerbaijan accused Armenia of bombing its second city of Ganja amid fears that the conflict between the two countries is leading to a full-scale war. Armenia has denied the charges and has said that it did not direct fire of any kind towards Azerbaijan. However, the leader of Nagorno-Karabakh, the region with ethnic Armenian population said his forces destroyed a military airbase in Ganja.
The fight between Armenia and Azerbaijan has broken out over the region of Nagorno-Karabach that is inside Azerbaijan but has ethnic Armenian population.
Both countries are accusing each other of provocation.
"Delivering fire on the territory of Azerbaijan from the territory of Armenia is clearly provocative and expands the zone of hostilities," Azeri Defence Minister Zakir Hasanov said.
Ganja, with a population of 335,000, is about 100 km (60 miles) north of the Karabakh capital Stepanakert and 80 km from the Armenian city of Vardenis. Azerbaijan has previously accused Armenia of firing into its territory from Vardenis, and Yerevan has denied it.
Armenia says Azerbaijan has used the airport in Ganja as a base for its warplanes to carry out bombing raids on Nagorno-Karabakh.
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Nagorno-Karabakh leader Arayik Harutyunyan said his forces would target Azeri cities.
"Permanent military units located in the large cities of Azerbaijan from now on become the targets of the defence army," he said.
Casualties run into hundreds
The armed military conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia that started about a week ago has caused hundreds of casualties but the precise figure is not available as of now.
Armenia said the Karabakh cities of Stepanakert and Martakert were under attack by Azerbaijan`s air force and from long-range missiles.
Both sides are accusing each other of targetting civilians.
Ignoring appeals from Russia, the United States, France and the EU to call a ceasefire, the opposing sides have stepped up hostilities over the weekend, with an accompanying rise in aggressive rhetoric.
Armenia said on Saturday it would use "all necessary means" to protect ethnic Armenians from attack by Azerbaijan, and its prime minister compared the struggle with a 20th century war against Ottoman Turkey.
Azerbaijan said on Saturday its forces had captured a string of villages. Armenia acknowledged that ethnic Armenian fighters were under pressure in some places and said the situation on the ground was fluctuating.
The clashes are the worst since the 1990s, when some 30,000 people were killed. They have raised international concern about stability in the South Caucasus, where pipelines carry Azeri oil and gas to world markets.
(With inputs from Reuters)