Mikael Arzumanyan on right pictured during April 2016 fighting. Artsrun Hovannisyan’s facebook.

The same day the U.S.-brokered cease-fire was supposed to take hold, Turkish-backed Azerbaijani forces tracked and tried to assassinate the commander of the Karabakh army, it emerged the following day. Gen. Jalal Harutyunyan was reported wounded in an incident near the frontline, and on October 27 he was replaced by Gen. Mikael Arzumanyan, previously the army’s first deputy commander.

Shelling and attacks continued in Karabakh, primarily in the south. A civilian food delivery worker was killed in Martuni, and another wounded. Three women were wounded in a cluster munition attack on the village of Nngi in Martuni region, Berdzor on the road between Goris and Stepanakert was also shelled.

In the morning, Armenia’s defense ministry also reported Azerbaijani attacks, including with combat drones, on border guards positions along the border with Iran, on the Republic of Armenia territory.

In Yerevan, Vazgen Manukyan, Armenia’s first prime minister (1990-91) and defense minister (1992-93), urged prime minister Nikol Pashinyan to resign and hand all power to the military-led Defense Committee that would lead the war effort.

Pashinyan did not react to the call, but the defense ministry and the general staff issued a joint statement “condemning attempts to saw discord between the political leadership and the military” and reaffirming their commitment to Armenia’s constitution that subordinates the military to civilian leadership.

In the evening of October 27, Pashinyan made another national address, once again calling for a pan-national effort to defend Artsakh.

In Washington, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reported to have called Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev, to encourage them to stick to the cease-fire agreed.

Meantime, Russia’s Vladimir Putin again spoke with Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan by telephone. Putin reportedly shared his concerns over the situation in Karabakh, particularly the “growing involvement in the fighting of terrorists from the Middle East.” The two agreed to “continue coordination” between the two countries’ government agencies.