Azerbaijan says 21 civilians killed by shelling in Barda

Azerbaijan said Wednesday an Armenian missile strike on its Barda district killed at least 21 civilians, while injuring nearly 70 others, reported Xinhua.

The country's Prosecutor General's Office said the strike hit a densely populated area where trade facilities are located, local media outlet AZERTAC reported.

However, Armenian Defense Ministry spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan denied the allegation his country had attacked Barda.

Armenian news outlet Armenpress reported that the Azerbaijani army bombarded the city of Stepanakert and town of Shushi in the Nagorno-Karabakh region on Wednesday, causing heavy civilian casualties.

Barda, located in the midland of Azerbaijan, reportedly came under attack for a second day in a row, after four civilians were killed and 13 others wounded on Tuesday after an alleged missile attack from the Armenian side, which Yerevan also denied was carried out by Armenia.

Brokered by the United States, a new humanitarian ceasefire took effect between Azerbaijan and Armenia on Monday, with both sides accusing each other of violating the agreement just minutes after it came into effect.

It was already the third ceasefire since heavy fighting broke out between the two countries late last month in a fresh escalation of the decades-long Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

A new round of armed conflict broke out on Sept. 27, with clashes reportedly causing heavy casualties and property losses.