Armenian General Staff: Azerbaijani army advancing towards Armenian town of Jermuk. 200 total killed so far.

At a briefing for foreign ambassadors, Edward Asryan, the head of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, said that Azerbaijani armed forces had invaded Armenian territory and advanced 4.6 miles in the direction of Jermuk, a resort town in the east of the country.

According to him, the distance between Jermuk and the Azerbaijani border was around 7 miles before the hostilities started on September 13. Asryan claims that the Azerbaijani military is now just 2.8 miles from the city.

The Armenian General Staff says the attack was carried out from six directions. The Azerbaijani Armed Forces advanced about 1 mile towards the villages of Nerkin Hand in the Syunik region and Shorzha in the Gegharkunik region, as well as third of a mile towards the village of Ishkhanasar.

"In some directions we lost some combat positions, and the enemy was able to penetrate deep into our defense with large units. In some directions we managed to push the enemy back to their initial positions," Asryan said.

The new escalation between Armenia and Azerbaijan began on the night of September 13. Yerevan accused Azerbaijani servicemen of firing at towns and villages near the border. Baku claims that the shelling was in response to a "large-scale provocation" by Armenia.

Since the start of the conflict, 135 Armenian servicemen have been killed in battles on the border, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said 77 soldiers have been killed on its side. Armenian Ombudsman Kristina Grigoryan also said one civilian was killed while six others were wounded as a result of Azerbaijani forces' shelling.

After the fighting on the border began, the Armenian government appealed to Russia, other member countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), and the UN Security Council fpr assistance. As a result, the CSTO decided to send a mission to "assess the situation."