Azerbaijani forces strike Armenian-controlled Karabakh, raising risk of new Caucasus war

FILE PHOTO: People cross a street in Stepanakert, the capital of the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, October 19, 2020. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

BAKU (Reuters) - Azerbaijan sent troops backed by artillery strikes into Armenian-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday in an attempt to bring the breakaway region to heel by force, raising the threat of a new war with its neighbour Armenia.

Karabakh, a mountainous area in the volatile wider South Caucasus region, is internationally recognised as Azerbaijani territory. But part of it is run by separatist Armenian authorities who say the area is their ancestral homeland.