URGENT NEED TO HOLD ON TO NAGORNO-KARABAKH TRUCE: Alarming reports from the Caucasus have it that both Armenia and Azerbaijan are violating the terms of ceasefire announced Saturday, which had brought a brief lull in shelling and missile strikes. Both sides have accused each other of violations of the truce, with Azerbaijan reporting the deaths of seven civilians in an alleged Armenia attack today. The fact is that if both sides do not abide by the ceasefire, the danger is of a destructive, full-blown war at a time when international attention has been totally diverted by a rampant pandemic, collapsing economies, and the US elections. The other peril is of neighbouring powers interfering directly, thereby perpetuating the conflict. [COMMENT BY: Omar Shariff, International Editor]
AFP