Despite a ceasefire in the conflict-ridden Nagorno-Karabakh region, authorities in Azerbaijan claimed on Saturday that 12 civilians were killed and 40 others injured after an Armenian missile struck the country's second largest city of Ganja. "The ballistic missiles have been fired from the territory of Armenia," said Hikmat Hajiyev, assistant to the Azerbaijani President, adding that Ganja is located far from the conflict zone.

Emergency crews are still searching through the rubble as more people are feared trapped. Azerbaijan's prosecutor general and minister of emergencies were at the scene. Artsrun Hovhannisyan, spokesman for the Armenian Defence Ministry, has denied the attack and accused Azerbaijan of continuing to shell some areas inside Nagorno-Karabakh, including Stepanakert, the major city of the mountainous region. "At dawn, Azerbaijani forces once again violated the humanitarian ceasefire by resuming shelling in the direction of peaceful settlements," said Hovhannisyan on Twitter.