Azerbaijan has accused Armenia of using cluster munitions in two days of attacks, killing at least 25 people and wounding dozens in Barda, eastern Azerbaijan, near Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenia has denied carrying out the attacks on Tuesday, when four people were killed, and Wednesday, when 21 died.Wednesday’s strike marked the deadliest reported attack on civilians in a month of fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Lala Ismayilova, an English-language teacher in Barda, lost her 31-year-old brother Fuad Ismayilov, on Wednesday.
“My father passed away years ago, and Fuad was the man of our family. After the first shelling, he went out to see what happened.
“The second rocket landed when he went outside. He was young. How can I live without my brother?”Barda-based activist Ulviyya Babasoy said decried the targeting of civilians.
“I saw dead bodies, injured people, everything was ruined,” she told Al Jazeera.
“After the the things l witnessed today, I don’t know how we will continue our normal lives, it is so hard after all of this. l believe that civilians should not be targeted in war. This is crime, terrorism. Stop it, Armenia.”
According to a list seen by Al Jazeera, victims ranged in age from 30 to 80.
Barda MP Zahid Oruj told Al Jazeera that Armenia was attempting to “create scenes similar to Syria and Libya, with people’s blood shed in the streets”.