Armenia shelling kills 3 in Azerbaijan funeral ceremony

BAKU, Azerbaijan

At least three people were killed and three others were injured Thursday when Armenian forces targeted a group of civilians during a funeral ceremony in the Azerbaijani city of Terter, local security sources said.

The armed Armenian forces targeted the civilians with artillery shooting, sources told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity over security concerns.

The attack also destroyed a number of tombs in the cemetery and a civilian vehicle.

The recent clashes erupted between the two countries on Sept. 27, and since then Armenia has continued attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces.

Azerbaijan's Prosecutor General's Office earlier said on Thursday that at least 43 civilians had been killed and 218 injured due to the fresh Armenian attacks.

Armenia's attacks have also rendered 1,592 houses, 79 apartments and 290 public buildings unusable.

Many world powers, including Russia, France, and the US, have urged a new cease-fire. Turkey, meanwhile, has supported Baku's right to self-defense and demanded the withdrawal of Armenia's occupying forces.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh, or Nagorno-Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.

The OSCE Minsk Group – co-chaired by France, Russia, and the US – was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, but to no avail. A cease-fire, however, was agreed to in 1994. Multiple UN resolutions, as well as international organizations, demand the withdrawal of the occupying forces.

Some 20% of Azerbaijan's territory has remained under illegal Armenian occupation for nearly three decades.