Azerbaijan death toll rises to 19 amid Armenian attacks

The death toll in Azerbaijan from five days of continued Armenian attacks on civilian settlements rose to 19 on Thursday, said officials.

Azerbaijani prosecutors said in a statement that the number of those injured by Armenian forces in the western-central city of Terter had also risen to 55.

During the attacks, a total of 169 dwellings and 40 public buildings became unusable, it added.

Border clashes broke out early Sunday when Armenian forces targeted Azerbaijani civilian settlements and military positions, leading to casualties.

Azerbaijan's parliament declared a state of war in some of its cities and regions following Armenia's border violations and attacks in occupied Upper Karabakh, also known as Nagorno-Karabakh.

On Monday, Azerbaijan declared partial military mobilization amid the clashes.

Upper Karabakh conflict

Relations between the two former Soviet nations have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.

Four UN Security Council and two UN General Assembly resolutions, as well as many international organizations, demand the withdrawal of the occupying forces.

The OSCE Minsk Group-co-chaired by France, Russia and the US-was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, but to no avail. A cease-fire, however, was agreed upon in 1994.

France, Russia and NATO, among others, have urged an immediate halt to clashes in the occupied region.