Cease-fire holds between Armenia and Azerbaijan

A cease-fire between Armenia and Azerbaijan held Thursday following two days of fighting that killed 176 soldiers from both sides.
Armen Grigoryan, the secretary of Armenia’s Security Council, said the truce brokered thanks to international mediation took effect at 8 p.m. (1600 GMT) Wednesday. A previous cease-fire that Russia brokered Tuesday had quickly failed.
Armenia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday that the situation on the border with Azerbaijan has been quiet since the cease-fire started and no violations were reported. There was no immediate comment from Azerbaijan’s government.
The cease-fire declaration followed two days of heavy fighting that marked the largest outbreak of hostilities between the two longtime adversaries in nearly two years.
Armenia and Azerbaijan traded blame for the shelling, with Armenian authorities accusing Baku of unprovoked aggression and Azerbaijani officials saying their country was responding to Armenian attacks.