During the war with Armenia, Azerbaijan captured the important town

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has claimed in a TV interview that his forces have captured the key town of Shusha in Nagorno-Karabakh.

President Ilham Aliyev announced in a TV interview on Sunday that Azerbaijan had occupied the Shusha region. The town is called Shoshi in Armenia.

However, Armenia has denied claims of occupation of the town, saying the fighting is ongoing.

The capture of this strategically important town would be a major victory in Azerbaijan's ongoing war in the disputed region.

Nagorno-Karabakh is an international part of Azerbaijan, but is governed by people of Armenian descent and has Armenian support.

The war between the two countries over the region ended in 1994 without a peace agreement.

Fresh clashes erupted in September this year, with both countries blaming each other.

The latest ground situation

The town of Shusha is located in a mountainous area. The highway connecting Armenia passes through the place where it is located and it is above its capital. If captured, it could serve as a post for an attack on the capital.

President Ilham Aliyev has said that Sosha's "independence" will be money in the history of the people of Azerbaijan.

"No power in the world can stop us," he said. He also vowed to take Nagorno-Karabakh back to his country.

But Armenia, on the other hand, denies that the town of Sosha has been captured.

"There is a war going on in Sushi and we believe in our troops," Artesern, a Defense Ministry official in the country, wrote in a Facebook post.

Ahead of Azerbaijan's announcement, Armenian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Susan Stepanian wrote on Facebook that "the fiercest fighting" took place around Susha overnight.

He said several Azerbaijani soldiers, tanks and other vehicles were destroyed in the fighting.

Shusha is culturally important on both sides. Its population was dominated by Azerbaijanians in the late 1980s and early 1990s, forcing hundreds to flee.

It is a monument to the people of Armenia in the form of the Apostolic Church. It is the center of the Savior Gizenchitsuits Cathedral.

Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of attacking its buildings.

What is the reaction?

People take to the streets in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, to celebrate. Car horns are ringing, slogans are being chanted and the national flag is being waved.

Reuters reports that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed the people of Azerbaijan as "my Azeri brothers" and expressed hope that "the remaining occupied territories will be liberated soon."

Keep in mind that Turkey is supporting Azerbaijan. Other world powers have repeatedly tried to stop the war between the two countries in recent weeks.

Russia is supporting Armenia in this war, but it has close ties with Azerbaijan.

Two peace agreements were negotiated between the two countries, but they ended immediately. Both countries accuse each other of violating them.

The ceasefire agreement reached by the United States on October 25 ended in a few minutes.

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said about 5,000 people had been killed, far more than the two warring countries had claimed.