Civilians suffer heavy losses on both sides in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Ganja is a large industrial city and home to a population of over 300,000 people. Although the city is far from the conflict zone, it has been shelled frequently together with other populated areas of Azerbaijan.

Despite the danger, residents say they plan to stay put.

“I will not leave. This is my home and I will not abandon it,” an elderly Ganja resident told Meydan TV.

Another resident, Gunel Aliyeva, says her family members are concerned since nothing was left from their houses after the recent attack.

“When we came my parents were outside in fear. They are still shocked, as they have lost their neighbors and some are seriously wounded,” Aliyeva added.

“I wish that no one dies,” Madina Aliyeva, another Ganja resident, told Meydan TV among the ruins of her house.

Hikmat Hajiyev, an aide to the Azerbaijani president, said more than 20 houses were destroyed in the attack.

Shortly after the shelling Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said the country’s armed forces would retaliate against Yerevan and “take revenge on the battlefield”.

Armenian defence ministry denied Yerevan was behind the shelling and accused Baku of continuing to shell populated areas inside Nagorno-Karabakh, including Khankendi (Stepanakert), the administrative city of the enclave.

Three civilians were wounded in Nagorno-Karabakh, according to the figures of the Armenian foreign ministry.