Karabakh says struck heavy retaliatory blows at Azerbaijan

PanARMENIAN.Net - Nagorno-Karabakh presidential spokesman Vahram Poghosyan has said "the Azerbaijani side has been heavily retaliated against, the targets have been successfully hit."

Poghosyan said the Armenian side has obtained information that after the Karabakh army's missile strikes on Azerbaijani military facilities on October 4, "hundreds of thousands of people from different cities of Azerbaijan are fleeing in panic to Baku and other settlements in the rear."

Poghosyan earlier issued a warning for the residents of major Azerbaijani cities that host permanent military facilities and urged them to leave their residences immediately to avoid possible casualties.

Azerbaijan, with help from Turkey, 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.