Fresh Azerbaijani shelling shatters peace after fragile ceasefire agreed

Any hope for a truce in the long-running conflict in the Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh was short-lived

The streets of Stepanakert were quiet as a ceasefire went into effect on Saturday afternoon, but the local population's ears are still ringing from shelling and drone strikes that have decimated this highland town over the past 13 days.

The peace - and any hope of a lasting truce - was short-lived. Air-raid sirens in Artsakh, a de facto Armenian republic inside Azerbaijan's borders, were screaming again before nightfall. Residents who have refused to flee the assault retreated back into bomb shelters and basements, bracing for another sleepless night.