Turkey delivers aid to Azerbaijan amid clashes

An aid convoy of the Turkish Red Crescent carrying relief supplies to the Azerbaijani people affected by clashes in the Upper Karabakh region arrived in the capital Baku on Wednesday.

The convoy of four trucks loaded with humanitarian aid was received by Turkey's Ambassador to Azerbaijan Erkan Özoral, Azerbaijan Red Crescent Vice President Qafar Asgarzade and other officials in Baku.

The convoy carrying 250 disaster tents, 3,000 blankets, 500 beds and 288 kitchen sets, set out from Turkey's capital Ankara on Oct. 9.

The relief supplies were put in the warehouse of the Azerbaijan Red Crescent to be delivered to civilians living in the region where the conflict takes place.

Speaking at the reception ceremony, Özoral reiterated Turkey's support for Azerbaijan in the dispute with Armenia over Upper Karabakh, also known as Nagorno-Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.

"We will continue to provide all kind of support to Azerbaijan," he said.

According to Azerbaijani authorities, 43 Azerbaijani civilians have been killed in Armenian forces attacks and more than 200 others injured so far.

The clashes began on Sept. 27 when Armenian forces targeted civilian Azerbaijani settlements and military positions in the region, leading to casualties.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh.

Some 20% of Azerbaijan's territory has remained under illegal Armenian occupation for some three decades.

The two states agreed to a humanitarian cease-fire taking effect on Saturday for the exchange of prisoners and retrieval of bodies in Upper Karabakh.

The truce came after a trilateral meeting in Moscow on Friday between the foreign ministers of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia.

But Armenian forces Sunday launched a missile strike on Azerbaijan's second-largest city Ganja -- although the region is outside the front line zone -- killing 10 civilians and injuring 35.