YEREVAN —Armenia and Azerbaijan have ignored calls for a ceasefire after the worst fighting in decades between the two over a disputed territory.
The deadliest clashes spilling over into the fifth day have killed at least 130 people and wounded hundreds.
Azerbaijan's defense ministry said on Thursday its forces had carried out "crushing artillery strikes against Armenian forces' positions in the occupied territories," throughout the night.
Separatist officials in Karabakh described the overnight situation along the frontline as "tense" and said both sides exchanged artillery fire.
"The enemy attempted to regroup its troops, but Armenian forces suppressed all such attempts."
The US, France and Russia have jointly condemned the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, in the southern Caucasus.
But Turkey — an ally of Azerbaijan — dismissed demands for a ceasefire.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday Syrian extremist fighters were operating in Nagorny Karabakh, where Armenia and Azerbaijan are engaged in heavy fighting.
Macron said he had evidence that militants had traveled through the Turkish city of Gaziantep on their way to the conflict in the Caucasus.
"We have information today that indicates with certainty that Syrian fighters from jihadist groups have transited through Gaziantep to reach the theatre of operations in Nagorny Karabakh," Macron said in Brussels ahead of an EU summit.
"This is a very serious new fact, which changes the situation."
Nagorno-Karabakh is officially part of Azerbaijan but governed by separatist ethnic Armenians. Years of negotiations have never resulted in a peace treaty.
Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a war in 1988-94 over the territory. Armenia backs the self-declared republic but has never officially recognized it.
Karabakh's declaration of independence from Azerbaijan sparked a war in the early 1990s that claimed 30,000 lives, but it is still not recognized as independent by any country, including Armenia.
France, Russia and the United States have mediated peace efforts as the "Minsk Group", but the last big push for a peace deal collapsed in 2010. — Agencies
