Armenia and Azerbaijan agree on ceasefire to end fighting

The truce announcement follows two days of heavy fighting (Armenian Defence Ministry via AP)

An Armenian security official said Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed on a ceasefire on Wednesday to end two days of fighting that has killed 155 troops from both sides.

Armen Grigoryan, the secretary of Armenia’s Security Council, said in televised remarks that the truce had taken effect at 8pm local time on Wednesday.

A previous ceasefire that Russia brokered on Tuesday quickly failed.

The truce announcement followed two days of heavy fighting that marked the largest outbreak of hostilities between the two longtime adversaries in nearly two years.

Armenia and Azerbaijan traded blame for the hostilities, with Armenian authorities accusing Baku of unprovoked aggression and Azerbaijani officials saying their country was responding to Armenian shelling.