The region is at the heart of a long-running conflict between ethnic Armenians and Azerbaijanis.

A Belarusian “hit man” who served with the country’s special forces and is accused of the forced disappearance of three high-profile opposition figures will finally stand trial in Switzerland – 24 years after the three vanished. Yury Garavsky, 44, was arrested following a confession in which he said he was involved with a group linked to the kidnapping and presumed killings of adversaries of Belarus’s current president Alexander Lukashenko. In 2019, Garavsky gave testimony to German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle about his part in the 1999 killings of three of president Lukashenko’s political opponents. He was working for the interior ministry’s SOBR special forces unit then. He even claimed he was present during the executions of former interior minister Yury Zakharenko, opposition politician Viktor Gonchar and pro-opposition businessman Anatoly Krasovsky. Now a Swiss court will determine the veracity of his claims. Zakharenko had vanished in May 1999. In September that year, Gonchar and his friend Krasovsky were abducted. Families of the three have been waiting for the trial to start to begin. Garavsky, who sought asylum in Switzerland in 2018 after fleeing Belarus capital Minsk, pointed out in his interview earlier that his superior Dmitry Pavlichenko shot the three victims in the chest. Mr Pavlichenko, however, has denied the allegations. The BBC reported that daughters of the two abducted men, both of whom left Belarus shortly after their fathers’ kidnappings, are set to appear in court this week. Both said the trial in the city of St Gallen will provide them with some solace. Garavsky is facing trial in Switzerland, where he was arrested, due to the country’s adherence to a UN convention against forced disappearance. He had said during the 2019 interview with DW that the actual orders to abduct the politicians were not written. “There was never anything written or any video confirmation. Everything was ordered verbally – I guess based on the wishes of President Lukashenko.” “I feel repentant and guilty. I feel that if these people remained alive, things would be different in Belarus,” he said. “Their bodies have probably decomposed, but the bones should be there.” Read More Poland imposes EU ban on all Russian-registered passenger cars Kim Jong-un shown Russia’s nuclear capable bombers and hypersonic missiles Ukraine is the spotlight at UN leaders' gathering, but is there room for other global priorities? North Korean leader to visit Russia's Pacific fleet as he continues trip focused on arms cooperation Putin meets the leader of Belarus, who suggests joining Russia's move to boost ties with North Korea Lithuania to issue special passports to Belarus citizens staying legally in the Baltic country

Carlos Alcaraz moved a step closer to a potential Wimbledon title showdown with Novak Djokovic on Friday as two-time champion Andy Murray hinted his All England Club days may be numbered after...

By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel stepped up accusations of Hamas abuses at the Gaza Strip's biggest hospital on Sunday,

In an illustrious career, Betsy Rawls secured eight major championships among 55 LPGA Tour titles

Chris Hemsworth and Matt Damon have been friends for over a decade and co-starred in three films together

Barbra Streisand spills some long-held secrets in her memoir 'My Name is Barbra', including King Charles' crush on her

PewDiePie claims Japan's strict health regulations wouldn't let him spend more than two hours a day with his baby in the hospital

Here's a sneak peek into what the ‘Breaking Amish’ cast is upto now

Virginia hopes its first home football game in 10 months is the high point of a long, emotional journey that started in a horrific way

Decades after many other rich countries stopped forcibly sterilizing Indigenous women, numerous activists, doctors, politicians and at least five class-action lawsuits allege the practice has not ended in Canada

Gabriel Iglesias had a near death experience in North Carolina after meeting a scary accident