Azerbaijan's targeting of key civilian infrastructure in Nagorno-Karabakh capital, Stepanakert by Azerbaijan is a war crime, Karabakh Human Rights Defender Artak Beglaryan said Sunday, October 4.

"The Azerbaijani armed forces have been deliberately and regularly targeting the key civilian infrastructures of the Karabakh capital of Stepanakert with heavy missiles and aviation since yesterday, aiming at depriving tens of thousands of peaceful residents of basic living conditions," Beglaryan said.

"The Artsakh Human Rights Defender strictly demands from the international human rights community to record those continuous war crimes of Azerbaijan and give proper assessment."

Stepanakert has been under Azerbaijan's rocket fire since the wee hours of Sunday morning, Armenian Defense Ministry representative Artsrun Hovhannisyan said on Facebook. Casualties have been reported.

Azerbaijan launched a large-scale offensive against Karabakh (Artsakh) in the morning of September 27, shelling Armenian positions and civilian settlements with large caliber weapons and rocket systems. Armenia and Karabakh have introduced martial law and total mobilization. The Armenian side has reported deaths and injuries both among the civilian population and the military. International and local journalists too have been injured in Azeri shelling of civilian settlements.