The self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh republic's army said Tuesday it had received an order to cease fire.

YEREVAN (Sputnik) — Armenia and Azerbaijan declared a dramatic escalation of the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region on April 2. Baku and Yerevan traded blame for breaching the truce in the conflict and reported heavy fighting in the area.

"The Karabakh Defense Army received an order from the political leadership at 12:00 local time to cease fire. The order is being carried out," army spokesman Senor Hasratyan told RIA Novosti.

The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988, when the Armenian-dominated autonomous region sought to secede from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, before proclaiming independence after the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991. The conflict escalated further in September 2015, with the sides blaming one another for violating the truce.

By Sputnik News