Azerbaijan: Villagers Flee Frontline Shelling

For several days in early April, Azerbaijani villages near the frontline with Nagorno-Karabakh were hit by shells during the escalated fighting between Azerbaijani troops and combined forces of Armenia and separatist Nagorno-Karabakh. Officials with Azerbaijan said more than 162 homes were damaged or destroyed during the shelling in the frontline villages of the Tartar region. While many residents in villages including Qapanly, Qaradağlı, Qaragaci, Sarijali, and Marqushevan - some less than 300 meters from the frontline - decided to remain, others fled the fighting.