New fighting erupted as Russia, US and France seek Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire Armenia said it had dismissed the head of its National Security Service in a presidential decree YEREVAN: Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenians fought new clashes on Thursday before talks at which the United States, France and Russia will discuss how to secure a ceasefire and avert a wider war in the South Caucasus. Azeri Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov will meet US, Russian and French envoys in Geneva on Thursday and Armenia’s foreign minister, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, is expected to meet officials form the three countries in Moscow on Monday. The talks mark the start of a concerted drive by the three powers to halt fighting that flared on Sept. 27, increasing concerns about the security of pipelines in Azerbaijan that carry natural gas and oil to Europe. Washington, Paris and Moscow are co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) Minsk Group that has led mediation in decades of conflict over the mountain enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Under international law, Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan but it is populated and governed by ethnic Armenians, who broke away in a 1991-94 war that killed about 30,000. “The position of the United States has been clear and has not changed: both sides must cease hostilities immediately and work with the Minsk Group Co-Chairs to return to substantive negotiations as soon as possible,” a US spokesman in Geneva said. Hours before the talks were due to start, Azerbaijan said the city of Ganja, deep inside the former Soviet republic, had been shelled by Armenian forces. One civilian had been killed in Azerbaijan’s Goranboy region and other villages and towns were fired on by ethnic Armenian forces, it said. Azeri authorities say 30 civilians have been killed and 143 wounded since Sept. 27 but have not disclosed information about military casualties. Nagorno-Karabakh said its main administrative centre, Stepanakert, had been shelled and that 30 servicemen had been killed, taking its military death toll to 350 since Sept. 27. It says 19 civilians have also been killed and many wounded. Following the latest reports of fighting, Armenia said it had dismissed the head of its National Security Service in a presidential decree. It gave no reason.