The reported death toll in clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh has reached about 600, with officials reporting more military and civilian deaths as the fighting continues despite a cease-fire announced over the weekend.
Nagorno-Karabakh military officials said Tuesday that 16 more of their servicemen have been killed in fighting, bringing the total number of dead among military members to 532 since Sept. 27, when the fighting started.
Azerbaijan hasn't disclosed its military losses, and the overall toll is likely to be much higher with both sides regularly claiming to have inflicted significant military casualties on one another.
Azerbaijani authorities said 42 civilians have been killed on their side in over two weeks.
Nagorno-Karabakh human rights ombudsman Artak Beglaryan late Monday reported at least 31 civilian deaths in the breakaway region. Hundreds more have been wounded.
The recent fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces broke out on Sept 27. More than two weeks of deadly clashes marked the biggest escalation of a decades-old conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, which lies in Azerbaijan but has been under control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since the end of a separatist war in 1994.
