Armenian and Azerbaijani forces exchanged rocket fire on Sunday, as their fighting intensified over Nagorno-Karabakh, reported AFP. The breakaway region’s capital and Azerbaijan’s second-largest city were bombarded. Nagorno-Karabakh’s main city Stepanakert was hit again on Sunday, after being under artillery fire since Friday. 

According to Azerbaijan’s defence ministry, Ganja, a city of more than 330,000 in western Azerbaijan, was also “under fire” while separatist forces claimed to have destroyed an airbase there. 

While the conflict appeared to be widening a week after heavy fighting due to the decades-old dispute over Karabakh, both the sides accused each other of targeting civilian areas. 

Sirens were sounding and explosions were heard at regular intervals in Stepanakert, where residents were taking shelter, including several families in the basement of a church. 

Armenia’s foreign ministry said that there were rocket attacks on Stepanakert and the town of Martakert and accused Azerbaijani forces of “the deliberate targeting of the civilian population. It added that the air force was also involved, since drones could be heard flying over Stepanakert.

Hikmet Hajiyev, an advisor to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said, “Armenian forces struck Ganja with rockets from Armenian territory.” He further said that Armenian forces had also used heavy artillery and rockets against the towns of Terter and Goradiz in Azerbaijan.

 Arayik Harutyunyan said, “I call on the residents of these cities to immediately leave.” Armenia on Saturday announced the deaths of 51 more separatist fighters, taking the number of reported fatalities on both sides above 240, which includes more than 30 civilians.