The head of the controversial Proud Boys has denied they are white supremacists and said it was a "great moment" to be mentioned by President Trump in the presidential debate.
The Proud Boys - who have been called an "extremist group with ties to white nationalism" by the FBI - became one of the big talking points of Tuesday's chaotic debate.
Mr Trump was widely criticised for failing to explicitly condemn white supremacist groups in the debate, while his opponent Democrat challenger Joe Biden, did.
When pushed by the moderator, the president replied: "Proud Boys, stand back and stand by" and went on to blame recent violence in cities such as Portland on left-wing activists.
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Trump refuses to condemn white supremacists
Enrique Tarrio, international chairman of the group, told Sky News he did not see the president's words as an endorsement of his group, and that Mr Biden had made a "crucial mistake" in naming them as racists.
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"We've been called many names, but probably the most inaccurate name you can call us is white supremacists," he said.
Image:The group say they are 'Western chauvinists who refuse to apologise for creating the modern world'
Mr Tarrio added: "I'm a 'person of colour', I'm a brown person, I'm chairman of the organisation [and] I got voted in..."
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He added: "I think it was a great moment that we were mentioned on stage... if we were recognised by anyone we were recognised by Biden."
Image:Weapons are a common feature of Proud Boys gatherings
He defended the Proud Boys as peaceful, pointing to their rally in Portland over the weekend - the Oregon city that has seen months of often violent protests over police brutality and racism since the killing of George Floyd.
"We've always done that - we did this in Portland - we stood back and stood by in Portland on the 26th, and we had a great event," he said.
"And basically I think what he [President Trump] meant was let the police do their job - which we have."
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'I don't know who the Proud Boys are'
Just hours after the debate the president distanced himself from the group on Wednesday saying: "I really don't know who they are".
"They have to stand down. Let law enforcement do their work," the president added.
Mr Biden again accused the group of being racists, telling them: "My message to the Proud Boys and every other white supremacist group is: cease and desist.
"The American people will decide who the next president is. Period," he added.
More than 50 women have alleged that they have been sexually abused or exploited in the Democratic Republic of Congo by Ebola aid workers who said they were from some of the world's top humanitarian organisations.
The allegations centre around the town of Beni, one of the epicentres of the country's 10th and most deadly Ebola outbreak which started in 2018.
In an interview, 51 women recounted multiple incidents of abuse and claimed the men who exploited them identified themselves as being with the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, Oxfam, Médecins Sans Frontières, World Vision, medical charity Alima and the UN's migration agency, IOM.
Image:The Ebola outbreak badly affected eastern areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo. File pic
The allegations follow a joint investigation by The New Humanitarian (NH) and the Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF).
The majority of women said they were plied with drinks, others ambushed in offices and hospitals, and some locked in rooms by men who promised jobs or threatened to fire them if they did not comply.
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"So many women were affected by this," said one 44-year-old woman, who explained that to get a job she had to have sex with a man who said he was a WHO worker.
She and the other women spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
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"I can't think of someone who worked in the response who didn't have to offer something," she added.
Some women were cooks, cleaners and community outreach workers hired on short-term contracts, earning $50 to $100 (£40 to £80) a month - more than twice the normal wage.
At least two women said they became pregnant and others said the abuse occurred as recently as March.
The number and similarity of many of the accounts from women in the eastern city of Beni suggest the practice was widespread, with three organisations vowing to investigate the accusations.
UN secretary-general António Guterres called for the allegations to be "investigated fully".
The WHO said it was investigating the allegations, affirming that it had a "zero tolerance policy with regard to sexual exploitation and abuse".
"The actions allegedly perpetrated by individuals identifying themselves as working for WHO are unacceptable and will be robustly investigated," it said in a statement.
"The betrayal of people in the communities we serve is reprehensible and we do not tolerate such behaviour in any of our staff, contractors or partners.
"Anyone identified as being involved will be held to account and face serious consequences, including immediate dismissal."
Following the allegations against WHO, a Foreign Office spokesperson, said: "Sexual exploitation and abuse are completely abhorrent. We regularly assess all of our partners against the highest safeguarding standards and expect thorough investigations whenever allegations are made.
"The World Health Organisation has confirmed it is urgently investigating these allegations. We will scrutinise their findings closely."
Sarah Champion MP, chair of the International Development committee in the Commons, told Sky News she wants to see a "root and branch change to the culture of the humanitarian aid sector".
She said: "The inquiry that our select committee is doing, we're hearing how mothers who have three children with no food and, for example in the Congo, the Ebola crisis bearing down on them. How are they meant to choose between reporting the abuse that they are suffering or food for their children?
"That's the power these individuals have over people and we shouldn't be surprised that people who prey on vulnerables go to areas where vulnerables are.
"This is something that these organisations need to get their heads around: they're not the great and the good, there are exploiters working within your organisations specifically because you work with vulnerable people.
"So, unless we do more on the ground to give those beneficiaries a voice, and options, and be told what's happening to them won't affect whether they get or food or medicine that day - it's actually helping everybody - until we give some of the power over to them and start listening, this abuse is going to continue."
Spokespeople for IOM, MSF, UNICEF and DRC's health ministry told the NH and TRF in mid-September they did not know about the accusations before they were presented to them and several said they would need more information to take action.
Oxfam said it does "everything in our power to prevent misconduct and to investigate and act on allegations when they arise, including supporting survivors".
Meanwhile, an Alima spokesperson said that after investigations earlier this year, two employees were dismissed for sexual harassment and that they had launched a new investigation after the recent reporting.
President Donald Trump has said a far-right group should "stand down" and let law enforcement do its work, after his failure to condemn the group in a TV debate sparked a backlash.
Mr Trump said "I don't know who the Proud Boys are", despite urging them in the election debate with Joe Biden to "stand back and stand by".
Proud Boys members called his debate comments "historic" and an endorsement.
Mr Biden said Mr Trump had "refused to disavow white supremacists".
The exchange came during the first of three televised debates between the two men ahead of the 3 November election. The debate descended into squabbling, bickering and insults, with US media describing it as chaotic, ugly and awful.
The commission that regulates the debates said it would introduce new measures for the next two to "maintain order". Mr Trump said they should get a new anchor and a smarter Democratic candidate.
Media playback is unsupported on your device
Not much was gleaned on policy and although one snap poll on the debate gave Mr Biden a slight edge, other opinion polls suggest 90% of Americans have already made up their mind on who to vote for and the debate may well have made little difference.
Mr Biden has consistently led Mr Trump in national polls, but surveys in so-called battleground states suggest the vote could still be a close contest.
What did Mr Trump say about Proud Boys in the debate?
Moderator Chris Wallace asked whether the president would condemn white supremacists and tell them to stand down during protests. These have flared this year over the issues of police killings and racism.
"Sure, I'm willing to... but I would say almost everything I see is from the left wing, not from the right wing," Mr Trump said.
Mr Biden twice said "Proud Boys" when the president asked who it was he was being told to condemn.
The president said: "Proud Boys - stand back and stand by. But I'll tell you what... Somebody's got to do something about antifa and the left because this is not a right-wing problem."
Founded in 2016, Proud Boys is a far-right, anti-immigrant, all-male group with a history of street violence against left-wing opponents. One Proud Boys social media account posted the logo "Stand Back, Stand By."
Antifa, short for "anti-fascist", is a loose affiliation of far-left activists that often clash with the far right at protests.
How did Mr Trump clarify his debate comments?
He was speaking on the White House lawn on Wednesday ahead of a campaign trip to Minnesota. A reporter asked him about Proud Boys and he said: "I don't know who they are. I can only say they have to stand down and let law enforcement do their work."
He repeated his demand that Mr Biden condemn the activities of antifa.
He did not clarify his use of "stand by" in the debate and said only that he wanted "law and order to be a very important part of our campaign" when asked whether he welcomed white supremacist support.
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Pressed again on the issue, he said: "I've always denounced any form, any form of any of that."
Mr Trump has tended to downplay the threat of white supremacy groups, although the Department of Homeland Security says they will remain the most "persistent and lethal threat" in the United States into next year.
What was the president accused of?
Joe Biden returned to the issue in a tweet on Wednesday, saying: "There's no other way to put it: the President of the United States refused to disavow white supremacists on the debate stage last night."
In his tweet he quoted a comment, addressed to the president, from a Proud Boys online forum that read: "This makes me so happy. We're ready! Standing by sir."
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said Mr Trump's words were "astonishing" and Rita Katz, of the SITE extremist watchdog, said Mr Trump had given "another nod to white supremacists".
Proud Boys members certainly believed they had been supported by Mr Trump.
Organiser Joe Biggs wrote: "President Trump told the proud boys to stand by because someone needs to deal with antifa... well sir! we're ready!!"
One member said the group was already seeing a spike in new recruits.
What were the other key debate moments?
The 90-minute debate in Cleveland, Ohio, was chaotic, with frequent interruptions and the men flinging insults at each other.
The main issues included:
Among the insults, Mr Biden call the president a "clown". He told the president: "Will you shut up, man?" and later snapped "Keep yapping, man"
Mr Trump said Mr Biden had "graduated either the lowest or almost the lowest in your class" and had done nothing in 47 years of politics
Mr Biden said Mr Trump had "panicked" over the coronavirus epidemic and a "lot of people died". Mr Trump later tweeted that many more would have died if Mr Biden had been president
When asked if he would encourage his supporters to be peaceful if results of the election were unclear, Mr Trump said: "I'm encouraging my supporters to go into the polls and watch very carefully"
When Mr Trump said Mr Biden would be at the behest of the left of the Democratic Party over health and environmental policy, Mr Biden responded: "I am the Democratic Party right now"
Media playback is unsupported on your device
What happens now?
The war of words following the debate lingered in exchanges on Wednesday.
On Twitter, Mr Trump said Mr Biden would destroy the country, claiming the challenger wishes to pack the Supreme Court with judges, end fracking and kill the Second Amendment of the Constitution, which includes the right to bear arms.
Joe Biden is on an all-day train tour through eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania, while his campaign has also rolled out a digital advert onslaught against the president.
He said on his first tour stop that Mr Trump had "forgotten the forgotten Americans he said he was going to fight for. I will never forget".
Mr Biden added: "I am not going to be a Democratic president. I am going to be an American president."
The other TV debates between the two candidates are on 15 October in Florida and 22 October in Tennessee.
President Donald Trump has said a far-right group should "stand down" and let law enforcement do its work, after his failure to condemn the group in a TV debate sparked a backlash.
Mr Trump said "I don't know know who the Proud Boys are", despite urging them in the election debate with Joe Biden to "stand back and stand by".
Proud Boys members called his debate comments "historic" and an endorsement.
Mr Biden said Mr Trump had "refused to disavow white supremacists".
The exchange came during the first of three televised debates between the two men ahead of the 3 November election. The debate descended into squabbling, bickering and insults, with US media describing it as chaotic, ugly and awful.
The commission that regulates the debates said it would introduce new measures for the next two to "maintain order". Mr Trump said they should get a new anchor and a smarter Democratic candidate.
Media playback is unsupported on your device
Not much was gleaned on policy and although one snap poll on the debate gave Mr Biden a slight edge, other opinion polls suggest 90% of Americans have already made up their mind on who to vote for and the debate may well have made little difference.
Mr Biden has consistently led Mr Trump in national polls, but surveys in so-called battleground states suggest the vote could still be a close contest.
What did Mr Trump say about Proud Boys in the debate?
Moderator Chris Wallace asked whether the president would condemn white supremacists and tell them to stand down during protests. These have flared this year over the issues of police killings and racism.
"Sure, I'm willing to... but I would say almost everything I see is from the left wing, not from the right wing," Mr Trump said.
Mr Biden twice said "Proud Boys" when the president asked who it was he was being told to condemn.
The president said: "Proud Boys - stand back and stand by. But I'll tell you what... Somebody's got to do something about antifa and the left because this is not a right-wing problem."
Founded in 2016, Proud Boys is a far-right, anti-immigrant, all-male group with a history of street violence against left-wing opponents. One Proud Boys social media account posted the logo "Stand Back, Stand By."
Antifa, short for "anti-fascist", is a loose affiliation of far-left activists that often clash with the far right at protests.
How did Mr Trump clarify his debate comments?
He was speaking on the White House lawn on Wednesday ahead of a campaign trip to Minnesota. A reporter asked him about Proud Boys and he said: "I don't know who they are. I can only say they have to stand down and let law enforcement do their work."
He did not clarify his use of "stand by" in the debate and said only that he wanted "law and order to be a very important part of our campaign" when asked whether he welcomed white supremacist support.
Media playback is unsupported on your device
Pressed again on the issue, he said: "I've always denounced any form, any form of any of that."
Mr Trump has downplayed the threat of white supremacy groups in the past, although the Department of Homeland Security says they will remain the most "persistent and lethal threat" in the United States into next year.
What was the president accused of?
Joe Biden returned to the issue in a tweet on Wednesday, saying: "There's no other way to put it: the President of the United States refused to disavow white supremacists on the debate stage last night."
In his tweet he quoted a comment, addressed to the president, from a Proud Boys online forum that read: "This makes me so happy. We're ready! Standing by sir."
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said Mr Trump's words were "astonishing" and Rita Katz, of the SITE extremist watchdog, said Mr Trump had given "another nod to white supremacists".
Proud Boys members certainly believed they had been supported by Mr Trump.
Organiser Joe Biggs wrote: "President Trump told the proud boys to stand by because someone needs to deal with antifa... well sir! we're ready!!"
One member said the group was already seeing a spike in new recruits.
What were the other key debate moments?
The 90-minute debate in Cleveland, Ohio, was chaotic, with frequent interruptions and the men flinging insults at each other.
The main issues included:
Among the insults, Mr Biden call the president a "clown". He told the president: "Will you shut up, man?" and later snapped "Keep yapping, man"
Mr Trump said Mr Biden had "graduated either the lowest or almost the lowest in your class" and had done nothing in 47 years of politics
Mr Biden said Mr Trump had "panicked" over the coronavirus epidemic and a "lot of people died". Mr Trump later tweeted that many more would have died if Mr Biden had been president
When asked if he would encourage his supporters to be peaceful if results of the election were unclear, Mr Trump said: "I'm encouraging my supporters to go into the polls and watch very carefully"
When Mr Trump said Mr Biden would be at the behest of the left of the Democratic Party over health and environmental policy, Mr Biden responded: "I am the Democratic Party right now"
Media playback is unsupported on your device
What happens now?
The war of words following the debate lingered in exchanges on Wednesday.
On Twitter, Mr Trump said Mr Biden would destroy the country, claiming the challenger wishes to pack the Supreme Court with judges, end fracking and kill the Second Amendment of the Constitution, which includes the right to bear arms.
Joe Biden is on an all-day train tour through eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania, while his campaign has also rolled out a digital advert onslaught against the president.
He said on his first tour stop that Mr Trump had "forgotten the forgotten Americans he said he was going to fight for. I will never forget".
Mr Biden added: "I am not going to be a Democratic president. I am going to be an American president."
The other TV debates between the two candidates are on 15 October in Florida and 22 October in Tennessee.
Fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia entered a fourth day on Wednesday in the biggest eruption of the decades-old conflict since a 1994 ceasefire.
Armenia said three civilians had been killed in Martakert, a town located in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, as a result of an Azeri attack, local news agency Armenpress reported.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Turkey’s “warlike” rhetoric was encouraging Azerbaijan to reconquer Nagorno-Karabakh.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a disputed region inside Azerbaijan and controlled by ethnic Armenians. It broke away from Azerbaijan in a war in the 1990s but is not recognised by any country as an independent republic.
Here are the latest updates:
Wednesday, September 30
18:24 GMT – Nagorno-Karabakh reports 23 more losses: ministry
The defence ministry of the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh said it could report 23 more casualties.
Dozens have been reported killed and hundreds wounded in fighting since Sunday.
Civilians gather in the basement of a building used as a bomb shelter during a military conflict over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in Stepanakert [Vahram Baghdasaryan/Reuters]
17:37 GMT – Fourth rocket lands on Iranian soil
Iranian media reported that a rocket has landed on Iranian soil as part of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The missile reportedly landed close to a residential area in a village called Mohammad Salehlou located in Khoda Afarin county, near the Armenian border. It is unclear who fired the rocket. No casualties or damages were reported.
This is the fourth rocket that lands in the Khoda Afarin border area. All three previous rockets had landed in non-residential areas, inflicting no casualties or damages.
16:53 GMT – Moscow urges parties to prevent use of foreign fighters
Russian Foreign Ministry said that illegal armed groups coming from Syria and Libya were being sent to the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, according to a statement.
Moscow called on both parties to prevent the use of foreign fighters and mercenaries in the conflict.
Two Syrian rebel sources have told Reuters that Turkey is sending Syrian rebel fighters to support Azerbaijan, which Turkey and Azerbaijan have denied.
A view shows a building in Martakert, which according to the Armenian Foreign Ministry was damaged by an air strike of Azeri armed forces [Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia via Reuters]
16:02 GMT – Moscow willing to host Azeri and Armenian talks: Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow was willing to host the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan for talks, a ministry statement cited him as saying.
He said Russia would continue to work both independently and together with other representatives of the Minsk group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to mediate in the conflict.
15:26 GMT – One person killed, three wounded in Azeri town of Horadiz: Azerbaijan Prosecutor
One person was killed and three wounded by Armenian fire on the town of Horadiz in southern Azerbaijan, said the Azeri Prosecutor’s office.
14:40 GMT – An ‘all-out war’
Al Jazeera’s Robin Forestier-Walker, who has extensively covered developments in the region, said that videos being released from the contested region give the idea of “an all-out war”.
“The most committed observers to this conflict said that this is the worst they have seen since the ceasefire in 1994 that sort of froze this conflict.”
A man points at blood stains on a road after a person was wounded in the city of Terter, Azerbaijan [Aziz Karimov/Reuters]Both sides are making claims about how much success they had over the number of military infrastructures they destroyed. “It’s quite extraordinary,” said Forestier-Walker, adding that the Armenians reported to have blown up 137 tanks and armored vehicles, 72 aerial vehicles, 7 helicopters and aircraft.
“Azerbaijan is also making similar claims, perhaps in larger numbers, but certainly when we see the military videos that have been released – and some are really ghastly – it gives a sense that this is really an all-out war of the like we haven’t seen since the Nineties.”
13:45 GMT – Azerbaijan ‘determined’ to fight until Armenian troops’ withdrawal
Azerbaijan vowed to pursue military action against Armenian forces until their full withdrawal from the disputed territory.
“We only have one condition: Armenian armed forces must unconditionally, fully, and immediately leave our lands,” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in televised remarks.
Local residents take shelter in a dugout during the fighting over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the city of Terter, Azerbaijan [Aziz Karimov/Reuters]If “the Armenian government fulfils the demand, fighting and bloodshed will end, and peace will be established in the region,” he added.
The two rival countries have so far rejected international calls for a halt to fighting and negotiations.
12:30 GMT – Azerbaijan President Aliyev thanks Turkey’s Erdogan for support
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his support, as fighting between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces entered a fourth day around the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Erdogan said on Monday Azerbaijan must take matters into its own hands and Turkey would stand “with all its resources and heart” behind Baku.
Aliyev said Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey all demonstrated support, but added Azerbaijan’s army did not need external help.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, centre, Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Turkey Hazar Zarif Ibrahimoglu, right, and deputy of Turkey’s governing party leader, Numan Kurtulmus, pose before a meeting, in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, September 29, 2020 [Cem Ozdel/Turkish Foreign Ministry/Pool/AP]
11:15 GMT – Three Armenian civilians killed in Nagorno-Karabakh town: Armenian state media
Armenia says three civilians have been killed in Martakert, a town situated in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, as a result of an Azeri attack, the state-run Armenpress news agency reported.
10:30 GMT – Russian military closely following Nagorno-Karabakh developments: Kremlin
The Kremlin has said Russia’s military was closely following developments over Nagorno-Karabakh and again urged the opposing sides to end hostilities.
09:40 GMT – Armenia publishes photos of wreckage it says is SU-25 warplane shot down by Turkish F-16 jet
Armenia has posted pictures on an online government platform of the wreckage of a plane it said was a SU-25 warplane, shot down by a Turkish fighter jet on September 29.
Turkey and Azerbaijan have denied Yerevan’s claim that a Turkish F-16 fighter jet shot down the Armenian plane, killing the pilot. On Wednesday, Armenia’s defence ministry named the pilot as Major Valeri Danelin.
09:15 GMT – ‘Will do what is necessary’: Turkish foreign minister
Turkey will back Azerbaijan with “every means available” in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said.
“We will do what is necessary … if Azerbaijan wants to resolve this [conflict] on the field,” Cavusoglu told state news agency Anadolu after being asked whether Turkey is providing military support to Baku.
Azerbaijan currently has the “capacity” to handle the situation on its own, Cavusoglu says.
08:45 GMT – Turkey says French solidarity with Armenia supports occupation in Azerbaijan
Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu has said French solidarity with Armenia amounted to supporting Armenian occupation in Azerbaijan.
He was speaking in an interview with state-run Anadolu news agency after French President Emmanuel Macron said Turkey’s “warlike” rhetoric was encouraging Baku to reconquer Nagorno-Karabakh.
A house locals say was damaged during a recent shelling by Azeri forces, in the town of Martuni in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region [Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure/Reuters]
08:07 GMT – Macron criticises Turkey’s “warlike” rhetoric on Nagorno-Karabakh
French President Macron has said Turkey’s “warlike” rhetoric was encouraging Azerbaijan to reconquer Nagorno-Karabakh and that was unacceptable, though he added he had no proof at this stage of direct Turkish involvement.
Fierce fighting broke out on Sunday between Armenian and Azeri forces over Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey is an ally of Azerbaijan, with which it shares ethnic and cultural ties.
“I have noted Turkey’s political declarations (in favour of Azerbaijan), which I think are inconsiderate and dangerous,” Macron told a news conference in Latvia.
07:25 GMT – Armenia says no need for outside military help
Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who spoke by phone to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, says he is not at this point considering asking for help under a post-Soviet security treaty – but did not rule out doing so.
“Armenia will ensure its security, with the participation of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) or without it,” Russian news agencies quoted Pashinyan as saying.
He said he and Putin had not discussed the possibility of Russian military intervention in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Russia has used the CSTO, along with the Eurasian Economic Union, another regional bloc focused on trade, to project influence across most of the former Soviet Union.
07:00 GMT – Armenia not ready for Russia-mediated peace talks: PM
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says peace talks with Azerbaijan under Russian mediation would be inappropriate, as fighting over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region entered a fourth day.
“It isn’t very appropriate to speak of a summit between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia at a time of intensive hostilities,” Pashinyan told Russia’s Interfax news agency. “A suitable atmosphere and conditions are needed for negotiations.”
06:35 GMT – 2,300 Armenian soldiers ‘neutralised’: Azerbaijan defence ministry
At least 2,300 Armenian soldiers have been killed or wounded by Azerbaijani troops since the conflict between the two countries began on Sunday, Azerbaijan’s defence ministry has said, according to an Anadolu Agency report.
Al Jazeera was not able to independently identify these numbers.
The ministry statement added that 130 tanks and armoured vehicles, more than 200 artillery and missile systems, approximately 25 air defence systems, six command and observation zones, five ammunition depots, 50 anti-tank guns and 55 cars were also destroyed.
Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. I am Usaid Siddiqui in Doha, Qatar.
US President Donald Trump's re-election campaign is running hundreds of Facebook advertisements pushing an unfounded conspiracy theory that Joe Biden cheated during the first US presidential debate.
The adverts show the Democratic Party challenger with an earpiece, and say that he refused to have his ears checked for devices prior to the debate.
The Biden campaign rejected the claims.
The Trump campaign adverts ask: "Why won't Sleepy Joe commit to an ear test?" and "Who is in Joe's ear?"
Accusations that presidential candidates have received debate help via hidden hearing devices are familiar, albeit unproven. Such allegations have been levelled against both Republican and Democratic candidates in the past.
Prior to Tuesday's debate, the rumour about Mr Biden's supposed earpiece was circulating on several social networks, and was being promoted by the Trump campaign.
At least 15 versions
The advertising campaign was launched after the debate, and also promotes two other baseless but widely shared rumours about Mr Biden. One suggested he asked for breaks during the debate, and another accused him of refusing a "drug test".
The photo featured in the advert is not from Tuesday's debate. It was first shared online in September 2019.
In a number of the adverts, it has been doctored to show Mr Biden wearing wireless Apple headphones. This was not the case in the original image. Some versions circle the ear featuring the headphone.
image copyrightFacebook
By Wednesday evening, there were at least 15 different versions of the advert, and according to Facebook's Ad Library, they had reached at least 10 million users.
Facebook has pledged to label posts containing voting misinformation and point users towards accurate information ahead of the election. However its policy does not involve fact-checking political speech, including in advertisements.
The company declined to comment about the latest Trump ad campaign.
Rumour origins
Hours before the debate, the claims went viral on Facebook and YouTube.
Identical memes were pushed by a number of popular Facebook pages with names such as US Conservative and Unhinged Left. They claimed "Joe Biden should be inspected for a hidden earpiece as well as submit to a drug test before the debate".
These memes are subject to fact-checks - and some have had warning labels applied to them on Facebook.
They were further amplified by supporters of QAnon, an unfounded a conspiracy theory that claims President Trump is fighting a secret war against elite Satan-worshipping paedophiles.
Those who believe in QAnon are known for promoting political disinformation on social media which targets opponents of the president. They shared close-up pictures of Mr Biden's ears, alleging a listening device was visible.
During the debate, some also shared photos of a fold in Mr Biden's shirt, claiming it was caused by a wire, and of a supposed device on his wrist, where he wears a rosary in memory of his late son Beau.
Nothing new
Conspiracy theories about secret listening devices have been recycled in presidential election campaigns for the past two decades.
Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton faced similar unfounded claims ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
In 2004, rumours circulated among left-wing sites and blogs that President George W Bush was being aided by a secret earpiece.
None of those allegations were found to be true.
Even if a candidate did wear an earpiece, any advantage would be questionable. As TV and radio presenters can attest, listening to someone while simultaneously talking during the back-and-forth of a live event is a difficult skill to master.
President Donald Trump's refusal to explicitly condemn a key far-right group has sparked outrage among opponents after a fierce and chaotic US election debate.
In the TV debate with rival Joe Biden, he instead called on the Proud Boys group to "stand back and stand by".
Members of the Proud Boys said on social media that the comments were "historic" and an endorsement.
Mr Biden said Mr Trump had "refused to disavow white supremacists".
The first of three televised debates between the two men ahead of the 3 November election descended into squabbling, bickering and insults, with US media describing it as chaotic, ugly and awful.
The commission that regulates the debates said it would introduce new measures for the next two to "maintain order".
Media playback is unsupported on your device
Not much was gleaned on policy and although one snap poll on the debate gave Mr Biden a slight edge, other opinion polls suggest 90% of Americans have already made up their mind on who to vote for and the debate may well have made little difference.
BBC North America reporter Anthony Zurcher says if one man emerged a winner it was Joe Biden as he was less covered in slop from the food fight. Anything resembling a substantive exchange was buried in bickering, so this was a missed opportunity for the president, he says.
Mr Biden appears to hold a single-digit lead over Mr Trump, but surveys in so-called battleground states suggest this could still be a close contest.
Why did the far-right issue arise?
It was raised by debate moderator Chris Wallace amid the backdrop of street violence in some cities this year, some of which flared over the issues of police killings and racism.
Wallace asked whether the president would condemn white supremacists and tell them to stand down during demonstrations.
"Sure, I'm willing to... but I would say almost everything I see is from the left wing, not from the right wing. I'm willing to do anything. I want to see peace," Mr Trump said.
Mr Biden twice said "Proud Boys" when the president asked who it was he was being told to condemn.
The president said: "Proud Boys - stand back and stand by. But I'll tell you what... Somebody's got to do something about antifa and the left because this is not a right-wing problem."
Founded in 2016, Proud Boys is a far-right, anti-immigrant, all-male group with a history of street violence against left-wing opponents. One Proud Boys social media account posts the logo "Stand Back, Stand By."
Antifa, short for "anti-fascist", is a loose affiliation of far-left activists that often clash with the far right at protests.
What has the reaction been?
Joe Biden returned to the issue in a tweet on Wednesday, saying: "There's no other way to put it: the President of the United States refused to disavow white supremacists on the debate stage last night."
In his tweet he quoted a comment, addressed to the president, from a Proud Boys online forum that read: "This makes me so happy. We're ready! Standing by sir."
Mr Biden's Democratic running mate, Kamala Harris, told CNN: "I heard what we all heard. The president of the United States, in the year of our Lord 2020, refuses to condemn white supremacists."
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said Mr Trump's words were "astonishing" and Rita Katz, of the SITE extremist watchdog, said Mr Trump had given "another nod to white supremacists".
President Trump has tried to project a stance of being the law-and-order president. His response in a tweet on Wednesday read: "Biden REFUSED to use the term LAW & ORDER. There go the Suburbs."
Trump campaign spokesman Hogan Gidley told CNN the president had said "sure" when asked if he would condemn extremist groups, adding Mr Trump had done so "many times just not last night, in the past as well".
Mr Trump's son, Donald Jnr, also said his father was "happy" to condemn such groups. "I don't know if that was a misspeak, but he was talking about having them stand down," he told CBS.
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Republican politicians were fairly muted in their response, some arguing that Mr Trump had condemned all street violence, others saying the president may have misspoken or should have given more clarity.
Mr Trump has downplayed the threat of white supremacy groups in the past, although the Department of Homeland Security says they will remain the most "persistent and lethal threat" in the United States into next year.
Proud Boys members certainly believed they had been supported by Mr Trump.
Organiser Joe Biggs wrote: "President Trump told the proud boys to stand by because someone needs to deal with antifa... well sir! we're ready!!"
One member said the group was already seeing a spike in new recruits.
What were the other key debate moments?
In the 90-minute debate in Cleveland, Ohio, both candidates talked over each other a lot. Mr Trump cut in some 73 times.
The main issues included:
Abounding insults. Hectoring from Mr Trump saw Mr Biden call the president a "clown". He told the president: "Will you shut up, man?" and later snapped "Keep yapping, man"
Mr Trump said Mr Biden had "graduated either the lowest or almost the lowest in your class" and had done nothing in 47 years of politics
Mr Biden said Mr Trump had "panicked" over the coronavirus epidemic and a "lot of people died". Mr Trump later tweeted that many more would have died if Mr Biden had been president
When asked if he would encourage his supporters to be peaceful if results of the election were unclear, Mr Trump said: "I'm encouraging my supporters to go into the polls and watch very carefully"
When Mr Trump said Mr Biden would be at the behest of the left of the Democratic Party over health and environmental policy, Mr Biden responded: "I am the Democratic Party right now"
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What happens now?
The war of words following the debate lingered in exchanges on Wednesday.
On Twitter, Mr Trump said Mr Biden would destroy the country, claiming the challenger wishes to pack the Supreme Court with judges, end fracking and kill the Second Amendment of the Constitution, which includes the right to bear arms.
Joe Biden is on an all-day train tour through eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania, while his campaign has also rolled out a digital advert onslaught against the president.
He said on his first tour stop that Mr Trump had "forgotten the forgotten Americans he said he was going to fight for. I will never forget".
Mr Biden added: "I am not going to be a Democratic president. I am going to be an American president."
The other TV debates between the two candidates are on 15 October in Florida and 22 October in Tennessee.
Civilians gather in the basement of a building used as a bomb shelter during a military conflict over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in Stepanakert [Vahram Baghdasaryan/Reuters]
A view shows a building in Martakert, which according to the Armenian Foreign Ministry was damaged by an air strike of Azeri armed forces [Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia via Reuters]
A man points at blood stains on a road after a person was wounded in the city of Terter, Azerbaijan [Aziz Karimov/Reuters]
Local residents take shelter in a dugout during the fighting over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the city of Terter, Azerbaijan [Aziz Karimov/Reuters]
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, centre, Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Turkey Hazar Zarif Ibrahimoglu, right, and deputy of Turkey’s governing party leader, Numan Kurtulmus, pose before a meeting, in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, September 29, 2020 [Cem Ozdel/Turkish Foreign Ministry/Pool/AP]
A house locals say was damaged during a recent shelling by Azeri forces, in the town of Martuni in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region [Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure/Reuters]
