Armenia leader orders end to fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh

Ethnic Armenian soldiers walk past a house destroyed by shelling by Azerbaijan’s artillery in Stepanakert, the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Friday, Nov. 6, 2020. Nagorno-Karabakh authorities said that three civilians were killed by Azerbaijani shelling of the regional capital, Stepanakert on Friday. (AP Photo)

Armenia’s prime minister says he has ordered an end to fighting with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Nikol Pashinian said on Facebook that he had signed an agreement with the presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia to halt the fighting that has raged since late September.

He wrote that the decision was “extremely painful for me personally and for our people”.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a region inside Azerbaijan that has been under control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since 1994.

Mr Pashinian’s announcement came after Azerbaijani forces seized the strategically key city of Shushi.