OSCE envoys urge humanitarian truce in Karabakh for evacuation of bodies

PanARMENIAN.Net - The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group have called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh to enable the repatriation of remains of fallen soldiers in coordination with the OSCE and ICRC.

The mediators – Igor Popov of Russia, Stéphane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States – released statement amid renewed hostilities on Friday, October 2.

"The co-chairs strongly condemn the continued violence in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone as well as against targets in the territory of Armenia and Azerbaijan away from the Line of Contact, and express our alarm at reports of increasing civilian casualties. Targeting or threatening civilians is never acceptable under any circumstances. The co-chairs call on the sides to observe fully their international obligations to protect civilian populations," the statement reads.

"The co-chairs also stress that participation in the escalating violence by external parties undermines efforts to achieve lasting peace in the region.

"Recalling the October 1 statement of the Presidents of the three co-chair countries, the co-Chairs once again call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the resumption of substantive negotiations, in good faith and without preconditions."

Azerbaijan launched a large-scale offensive against Karabakh (Artsakh) in the morning of September 27, shelling Armenian positions and civilian settlements with large caliber weapons and rocket systems. Armenia and Karabakh have introduced martial law and total mobilization. The Armenian side has reported deaths and injuries both among the civilian population and the military. International and local journalists too have been injured in Azeri shelling of civilian settlements.