Watch: Residents of the Armenian villages of Chinari, Berkaber, and Movses on the border with Azerbaijan have found their lives increasingly difficult as they have seen cross-border violence intensify in recent days. Villagers showed bullet holes they said were the result of shooting by Azerbaijan's armed forces. The shootings came amid escalating violence in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. (RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service)
Baku and Yerevan have accused each other of ceasefire violation as tensions continue around Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenian Defense Minister Seiran Ohanian said on August 4 that Azerbaijan's attempts to escalate tensions can trigger a war, adding though that "there is no reason for a large-scale military operation yet."
Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said on August 4 that one of its soldiers injured in a skirmish over the weekend had died, bringing the number of Azerbaijani soldiers killed in shootings in recent days to 13.
The ministry blamed Yerevan for the current situation.
Meanwhile, the de facto authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh said on August 3 that five of their soldiers were killed in the latest flare-up of tensions in the region.
An Azerbaijani Town On The Front Lines
1/11Siyavus, 36, says he witnesses clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces on a daily basis.
The Azeri town of Ciraqli sits almost on top of the Line of Contact dividing Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, the region controlled by Armenian-backed separatists. There has been fighting around the town in the last week, but residents have been dealing with conflict in the area for far longer than that. RFE/RL photographer Abbas Atilay went to the town in the Agdam district to record what life is like there for the residents.
2/11One of the doors on Siyavus's property is less than 100 meters from the zone of conflict.
The Azeri town of Ciraqli sits almost on top of the Line of Contact dividing Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, the region controlled by Armenian-backed separatists. There has been fighting around the town in the last week, but residents have been dealing with conflict in the area for far longer than that. RFE/RL photographer Abbas Atilay went to the town in the Agdam district to record what life is like there for the residents.
3/11Siyavus has two boys. One stands at the bullet-riddled door on his property.
The Azeri town of Ciraqli sits almost on top of the Line of Contact dividing Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, the region controlled by Armenian-backed separatists. There has been fighting around the town in the last week, but residents have been dealing with conflict in the area for far longer than that. RFE/RL photographer Abbas Atilay went to the town in the Agdam district to record what life is like there for the residents.
4/11Siyavus always checks for danger when passing areas that are in the line of fire.
The Azeri town of Ciraqli sits almost on top of the Line of Contact dividing Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, the region controlled by Armenian-backed separatists. There has been fighting around the town in the last week, but residents have been dealing with conflict in the area for far longer than that. RFE/RL photographer Abbas Atilay went to the town in the Agdam district to record what life is like there for the residents.
5/11There are also creative ways to look around dangerous corners.
The Azeri town of Ciraqli sits almost on top of the Line of Contact dividing Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, the region controlled by Armenian-backed separatists. There has been fighting around the town in the last week, but residents have been dealing with conflict in the area for far longer than that. RFE/RL photographer Abbas Atilay went to the town in the Agdam district to record what life is like there for the residents.
6/11Siyavus collects stray bullets that he digs out of the walls of his property.
The Azeri town of Ciraqli sits almost on top of the Line of Contact dividing Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, the region controlled by Armenian-backed separatists. There has been fighting around the town in the last week, but residents have been dealing with conflict in the area for far longer than that. RFE/RL photographer Abbas Atilay went to the town in the Agdam district to record what life is like there for the residents.
7/11Siyavus is concerned about his mother's safety.
The Azeri town of Ciraqli sits almost on top of the Line of Contact dividing Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, the region controlled by Armenian-backed separatists. There has been fighting around the town in the last week, but residents have been dealing with conflict in the area for far longer than that. RFE/RL photographer Abbas Atilay went to the town in the Agdam district to record what life is like there for the residents.
8/11
The Azeri town of Ciraqli sits almost on top of the Line of Contact dividing Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, the region controlled by Armenian-backed separatists. There has been fighting around the town in the last week, but residents have been dealing with conflict in the area for far longer than that. RFE/RL photographer Abbas Atilay went to the town in the Agdam district to record what life is like there for the residents.
9/11The doors and windows of the house are reinforced with concrete to protect against stray bullets.
The Azeri town of Ciraqli sits almost on top of the Line of Contact dividing Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, the region controlled by Armenian-backed separatists. There has been fighting around the town in the last week, but residents have been dealing with conflict in the area for far longer than that. RFE/RL photographer Abbas Atilay went to the town in the Agdam district to record what life is like there for the residents.
10/11
The Azeri town of Ciraqli sits almost on top of the Line of Contact dividing Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, the region controlled by Armenian-backed separatists. There has been fighting around the town in the last week, but residents have been dealing with conflict in the area for far longer than that. RFE/RL photographer Abbas Atilay went to the town in the Agdam district to record what life is like there for the residents.
11/11The walls of the house are pock-marked with old bullet holes.
The Azeri town of Ciraqli sits almost on top of the Line of Contact dividing Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, the region controlled by Armenian-backed separatists. There has been fighting around the town in the last week, but residents have been dealing with conflict in the area for far longer than that. RFE/RL photographer Abbas Atilay went to the town in the Agdam district to record what life is like there for the residents.
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The U.S. Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, James Warlick, urged Baku and Yerevan on August 4 to stop the violence and called on the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents to meet to discuss ways to resolve the conflict.
On August 3, Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamian said a meeting between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Serzh Sarkisian and Ilham Aliyev, could be held as early as August 8-9 in the southern Russian resort of Sochi.
However, Novruz Mammadov, deputy head of the Azeri presidential administration, said in an interview with Azerbaijan's ANS television channel on August 4 that there had been no decision as to whether Aliyev will attend the meeting with Sarkisian in Sochi.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on August 4 that Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to hold separate talks with Sarkisian and Aliyev in Sochi, at which the current escalation of tension in the conflict zone "may be discussed."
WATCH: A resident of the town of Agdam told RFE/RL on August 2 that shootings had increased in the area as tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of in Nagorno-Karabakh escalated with new fighting. (RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service)
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