Journalists injured in Nagorno-Karabakh fighting

Two French and two Armenian journalists have been injured in Nagorno-Karabakh, where heavy fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces this week marked the biggest escalation in years of a decades-old conflict. Two Le Monde reporters were wounded on Thursday in the town of Martuni, the newspaper said. Armenia’s Foreign Ministry said they were being taken to hospital, and accused Azerbaijan of bombarding the Martuni region, in eastern Nagorno-Karabakh. A cameraman with the Armenia TV channel and a reporter with the Armenian 24News outlet also sustained injuries in the Martuni shelling, Armenian officials said. It was unclear how badly the four journalists were hurt. A Russian journalist with the independent Dozhd TV channel was reported to have safely reached a bomb shelter. French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters on arrival at a European Union summit in Brussels that a plane was ready to repatriate the two injured French journalists. Later on Thursday, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry official Twitter account retweeted a post claiming that international journalists were under attack by Armenian forces, referring to shelling by Armenia on the Azerbaijani city Terter, about 90km (56 miles) from Nagorno-Karabakh. In that attack, Azerbaijan’s prosecutor general’s office said one civilian was killed. Clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh, a region inside Azerbaijan that has been controlled by ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian government since the end of a war a quarter-century ago, broke out on Sunday and continued unchecked, killing dozens and leaving scores wounded. Armenian and Azerbaijani forces have been blaming each other for continuing attacks. The death toll has been rising rapidly, with both sides reporting civilian casualties. Armenia has recorded 104 military deaths, as well as 23 civilians deaths. Azerbaijan’s Defence Ministry said its forces have killed 2,300 Armenia-backed troops and “destroyed 130 tanks, 200 artillery units, 25 anti-aircraft units, five ammunition depots, 50 anti-tank units and 55 military vehicles”. Armenia claimed that Azerbaijan had lost 130 soldiers, while 200 others were wounded. Al Jazeera was unable to verify either side’s claims of casualties. style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">