The Conflict In Nagorno-Karabakh

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan continues over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The fighting and shelling has killed hundreds of people — both combatants and civilians — and marks the biggest escalation of a decades-old conflict over the region in more than a quarter-century.

Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994. Turkey has publicly backed Azerbaijan in the conflict and vowed to help it reclaim its territory.

Russia, which has a security pact with Armenia but has cultivated warm ties with Azerbaijan, hosted top diplomats from both countries earlier in October for more than 10 hours of talks that ended with a cease-fire agreement. But the deal frayed immediately after the truce took effect, with both sides blaming each other for breaching it.

Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd speaks with the BBC's Rayhan Demytrie.

This BBC interview can be heard in the Here & Now podcast or with the WBUR app.