Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed Friday in Geneva not to target civilians in a conflict in Upper Karabakh, according to a group founded to find a solution to hostilities.
91 CIVILIANS HAVE BEEN KILLED BY ARMENIAN FORCES
“The sides will not deliberately target civilian populations or non-military objects in accordance with international humanitarian law,” said a statement by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)’s Minsk Group’ co-chairs — Igor Popov from Russia, France’s Stephane Visconti and Andrew Schofer from the US.
Earlier Friday, the co-chairs met separately and jointly with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan. Also at the meetings was the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson in Office (PRCiO) Andrzej Kasprzyk.
Consultations were held with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Peter Maurer.
The statement underlined that “without prejudice to the implementation of the ceasefire or other commitments,” the sides agreed to take several steps on an urgent basis, including actively engaging in the implementation of the recovery and exchange of remains on the battlefield by providing the ICRC and PRCiO the “necessary safety guarantees for facilitation.”
To date, at least 91 civilians, including 11 children and 27 women, have been killed in Armenian attacks, according to Azerbaijan’s Chief Prosecutor’s Office. About 400 people, including at least 14 babies, 36 children, and 101 women, have also been injured in the attacks.
At least 2,442 homes, 92 apartment buildings, and 428 public buildings have been damaged and become unusable, the authority said.