Vilen Petrosyan, head of the tiny hamlet of Talish in northeast Nagorno-Karabakh, a region disputed between Azerbaijan and Armenia backed fighters, had gone to sleep late because the next day was his birthday.

He and relatives had prepared a cake and 12kg of meat for shish kebab. Guests and relatives were expected to join the celebrations from neighbouring villages.

But instead of a leisurely breakfast with gifts and compliments, Mr Petrosyan and his family were torn from their beds by the sound of artillery.

The 52-year old ran out on to his balcony to see shells ploughing into homes, a kindergarten and other buildings. “In ten minutes, the village shop was on fire,” he said in an interview with a Conway Bulletin correspondent. “Then ten minutes later, a tractor.”

Azeri troops crossed the frontline, locals said. The bodies of a couple in their late 60s and the man’s 92-year- old mother were later found in their home. Armenian residents said that

Azerbaijani soldiers had shot them dead and then sliced off their ears.

This was the start of four days of battles that killed several dozen people in the worst fighting since a 1994 ceasefire was imposed.

Since 1994, Armenia-backed fighters have controlled and run Nagorno- Karabakh, although it is still recognised by the international community as part of Azerbaijan.

The leadership of the unrecognised republic has argued that Azerbaijan started the violence, aiming to recapture lost land. Azerbaijan, meanwhile, said its military fired in response to an Armenian attack – and that a school, houses and factories were hit on its side.

A unit of pro-Armenia fighters eventually beat back the Azerbaijani fighters from Talish but people fled the village on the day of the shelling. Mr Petrosyan said he doesn’t know if all will return.

“There are 170 children in the village,” he said. “So many explosions, this is hard for them. We must get around a negotiating table with the Azeris and agree a real peace.”