conflicting reports about a cessation of fighting in the disputed region, dozens are killed in the worst violence in two decades. you're watching al jazeera live from doha. al-nusra claims it has taken territory near aleppo. greece rescues a boat load of refugees off the island of lesbos the day before a controversial e.u. deal with

turkey comes into effect. a passenger plane takes off from the brussels airport two weeks after devastating suicide bombings. armenia is disputing reports of a ceasefire in the region. earlier, azerbaijan announced a truce in the conflict area. dozens died saturday on the worst day of fighting in 20 years, azerbaijan says 12 soldiers were killed, armenia reports that at least 18 are dead. both are also saying that there have been civilian casualties. now the u.s. and russia have called for calm. let's take a closer look at the region. it is marked in yellow. the area was governed by azerbaijan during the soviet era, but it's been controlled by local armenia since the 1994

ceasefire officially ended a six year war. the shaded area that you can see to the left, linking it with armenia is the so-called buffer zone controlled by armenia but claimed by azerbaijan. >> armenian forces report there have been more attacks by azerbaijan's military. both sides accuse each other of firing the first shots. they blame each other for violating a 1994 ceasefire that ended a six year war. >> it was a clear violation of the ceasefire regime, the international law, humanitarian law and geneva conventions.

>> some called it a frozen conflict. it began with a decision josef stalin made. he placed the enclave inside the newly created azerbaijan soviet socialist republic. christian armenians and muslims lived in peace for nearly a century. then in the late 1980's when the ussr was breaking up, armenians held a national meeting for independence and self rule. azerbaijan said it did not have the legal right and sent its military to retake it. thousands of muslims were forced to flee. after years of fighting and more than 30,000 deaths, the region, armenia and azerbaijan reached a truce in 1994. >> we are fighting on our own territory. if an armenian soldier doesn't want to die, then let them get

off azerbaijan territory. >> the republic is not recognized by the u.n. analysts believe renewed skirmishes could lead to a greater regional war. >> the big question mark people worry about is it probably won't stay confined to those two countries. there's a possibility of turkish intervention and russian intervention if the fighting becomes an all out war. >> the e.s.c. group chaired by ambassadors from the u.s., russia and france have been trying to negotiate a peace deal for years now. they are set to meet tuesday vienna. >> moscow brokered the 1994 ceasefire between the two former soviet republics which ended a six year war.

there's been violations by both sides. russia has a significant military presence with two bases and is a major supplier of arms to both countries. turkey has been backing azerbaijan, who's people are ethnically turkish. turkey imposed a blockade along its border with armenia since the conflict began. and armed opposition group in syria says it has taken control of two areas around aleppo. al-nusra said 50 government soldiers were killed during the offensive. the fighting is the most serious in the area since a u.n. backed ceasefire came into effect a month ago. however, al-nusra front is not part that have agreement. we have more. >> on the offensive, al-nusra front fighters advance south of aleppo. it's a fight to gain control of the town from post pro syrian government forces who captured it with the help of the russian air force. al-nusra tanks again to shell

their enemies positions from a distance. the battle has started. it only takes a few hours for its fighters to claire victory after they managed to take control of the highest point. the hill overlooks the town. the syrian army and foreign militias fighting alongside it including the armed group hezbollah suffered heavy losses. >> we managed to seize control of it and its hills to force the fighters to pull out. we destroyed government lines of supply and killed a number of militia fighters. >> unexploded shells and shrapnel dropped by assad's army litter the streets. on the walls, sectarian slogans are everywhere, indicating that fighters from a shia group were here. shortly after rebel fighters captured the area, assad's air force started bombing the area.

the frequent exchange between remembers and government has been a signature of this war. assad's armies doesn't have enough troops to maintain gains on the ground and the rentals lack the air cover so the fighting continues. syrian state government media say government troops captured a town from isil fighters. it fell to isil last year and considered to be its main stronghold in the province. it's west of palmyra, which was recaptured last week by the syrian government. >> the greek coast guard rescue the a boat load of refugees off the coast of lesbos. apolitical deal is due to come into effect when a group will be returned to turkey. they are coping to deal with refugees as they try to make their way further into europe.

meanwhile in turkey, there's growing concern over the number of refugees in the west of the country. about 300 people demonstrated against efforts to set up registration centers. the camps will house asylum seekers sent back to turkey from europe. in a moment, we'll speak so harry fossett standing by. first, lets cross to zeina hodor at the detention facility in lesbos. you've been speaking to some of the people. what did they say or what did they tell you about this ruling that's about to come into effect? >> as you can imagine, there's a lot of anxiety among refugees and migrants less than 24 hours before the deport is as are set to begin. the detention facility behind me, people are locked up there, people who land on the island post marsh 20 are being sent to detention centers.

we're not allowed to film inside. we are not allowed to film the refugees close to the fence but spoke to a group of syrians. they are worried about their fate, asking what is going to happen to us, are syrians going to be deported or is it going to be the afghans, the pakistanis, i am a defector from the syrian army, i cannot go back. i won't be safe. at the end of the day, greek officials and e.u. officials are making it clear that there will be no mass deportations and that these cases going to be processed individually. they're going to look into these cases and make sure that they are not sending people back and the safeguards are in place. greek officials preparing for this deportation, we saw dozen was officers from front techs,

the e.u. border, external border agency arrives here in lesbos to prepare for the deportations tomorrow. >> zeina, thank you for that. reporting for us from the detention camp. let's cross over now to our other correspondent, harry foster. we know turkey is already feeling the strain of the refugees it is hosting. are they prepared to host even more? >> well, there's been a good deal of uncertainty about that over the last days. even know, that still persisted to some extent. what we have here, as you can see behind me, are a few tents set up here on the dock side where several hundred people, we understand that the greeks say they will send 400 to turkey,

500 to be sent in this batch. there have been a good deal of protests here. even just now, people have been signs petitions saying that we don't want a refugee camp in this town. we don't know what kind of people are coming back from greece here. they are worried about here they say potential crime, potential affect on the job market and tourist industry here. the government has no plans to keep people here long term. they are talking about them being taken on into in land camps. whether that means near the syrian border where so much of the refugee issue is being contained in this country or whether it could be somewhere else, we have yet to establish. the turkish interior ministry, they have been speaking, saying this deal has already had a good deal of its desired effect reducing the number of people trying to get out of turkey and into greece via the sea to less than 300 people per day.

the greeks are saying it's between 300 and 500 people a day, but that is substantially less. some sources within the smuggling routes from here tell that you say it's to do with security, that the security along this coastline has been very much stepped up by the turks. the fairness of the deal is another question. there is occurrens, afghanis and pakistanis who will be returned. one academic saying anybody brought because here would immediately go to the back of the line of any possible return to europe. that accounted act as a spur to make them try to cross the sea once again. >> harry, thank you for that update. plenty more to come here on al jazeera. a crisis in argentina's school system has a major impact on the country's children. ♪

the ope singers lending their voices to the plight of refugees and migrants.

welcome back, the top stories here on al jazeera,ar nina is disputing reports of a ceasefire in the region. earlier, azerbaijan announced a unilateral tru on both sides saturday. in syria, al-nusra said it has taken control of two areas around aleppo, the country's second largest city.

fifty government solers were killed during the offensive in the southern aleppo countryside. >> a political deal comes into effect when migrants will be turned to turkey. greece is struggling to cope with the number of refugees arriving. >> a massive fire has broken out at the russian defense ministry in moscow. the blaze spread from the third floor and caused part of the roof to collapse. seven people have been rescued, 40 others have been evacuated. let's go live to rory challands standing by live in moscow. no casualties yet. do they know what caused the blaze? >> well, the working theory at the moment is that it was some sort of electrical short circuit, but of course vehicles can only really happen once the fire has been properly put out and it's safe to go into the building again. i know this building very well,

because i used to live right opposite it, and it's one of these huge great starlin era edifices build in a neoimperial style. a lot of wooden floors inside is one of the reasons this fire was so big. at its height, there were about 200 or so firefighters doing battle with the flames. about an hour ago, they say that they've got this pretty much under control now, no more burning going on in the building. the collapse of the roofs was intentional it seems to give the firefighters better access into the building to get more water and damp down those flames more effectively. now, no casualties that we know of. i think a couple of the firefighters were sort of taken away to that checked for smoke inhalation and that sort of thing but nothing at the moment more serious than that. the minister of defense says this isn't going to harper its

work, because this wasn't one of the main buildings of the defense ministry anymore. most of the military directate staff have been moved to a much more modern building, so this was a building that was mainly being used these days for precurement and services and that sort of thing, but i think it's clear that this building is not going to be in a usable state for quite some time, if at all. >> thank you for that update from moscow. more details are emerging about the injured palestinian man killed by an israeli soldier in the occupied west bank. israeli media says the autopsy report of the man confirms that he had been shot in the head. he had been lying injured when he was killed. he allegedly attacked an israeli. an israeli military court ruled the soldier accused of killing him will be detained in a military camp. he charge has been reduced from

murder to manslaughter. turkey's prime minister promised to rebuild the city after a month of clashes with the kurdistan workers party known as the p.k.k. it has left a historic part of the city in ruins. we have this report. >> he is now in debt. his shop was closed for months. fighting has stopped and although his business is open again, he's not happy. >> the people have nothing, they are hungry. there was no work, nothing, i'm in debt. i'm relying on my credit card and i don't know how i will pay back the bank. the government has to help us. >> he is not alone. many people in the historic area has been affected.

this district is the hardest hit. the government imposed a curfew in late 2015 and launched a military operation, targeting p.k.k. members and affiliated groups. the fighting went on for months, house by house, street by street. local aid groups say between 40,000 to 50,000 people were forced to leave. the damage is estimated to be tens of millions of dollars. over two weeks ago, the curfew was lifted and life is slowly returning to normal, but tensions remain. police in plain clothes are everywhere. some areas here remain dangerous. >> some areas within the district remain under curfew. the government doesn't allow anyone to go back to that area. as you can see, there are barricades still set up. >> turkish prime minister has promised to curb what he called the terrorism of the p.k.k. speaking from the city's historic park, he pledged to rebuild the area.

>> we will not leave it as it is now in the way the terrorists ruined and left it. we will reconstruct in the best way possible. >> not everyone here trusts the government. >> the fighting was like a living hell. this is dirty politics from both sides. no, i don't believe what the prime minister says. >> i will trust him when i see everything is rebuilt. >> turkey's kurdish issue is like a bleeding wound. the p.k.k. has been fighting for autonomy for over 30 years. restoring trust will take much more than rebuilding homes and livelihoods. al jazeera. 11 journalists have been detained by police in the maldives, arrests made during protests of alleged government crackdown and press freedom.

police fired tear gas and pepper spray. the ruling party presented a bill in the parliament protesting fines and jail terms for defamation. a protest is staged against the ruling government, opposing on going peace attacks with the farc rebels in colombia, sake it will not represent justice. we have more from bogota. venting anger and frustration at a president they see as a traitor, thousands of supporters of the right wing party of the former president took to the streets in over a dozen cities and towns across colombia. they are protesting against policy trying to reach a negotiated peace with the farc to whom they feel has given too many concessions.

>> the president is sell the country to the rebels under the table. this peace process is a lie and all colombians know that. we need help or soon we'll end up like venezuela. >> many sported the yellow jersey of the national football team as a sign of patriotic sign while calling on the approximate the to resign. others, retired soldiers and policemen came in uniform to rally against the treatment of armed forces members accused of human rights violations. >> these rallies show just how divided colombians still are when it comes to the peace pros and they're a show of strength by the supporters at a time when president santos approval ratings are at a l. >> in any other country in the world, it would be in conceivable that such large numbers of the population would

march. this is a push to pressure the process and to see how much, you know, how much leverage he and his party can gain in stirring up opposition on the part of the population. >> recent economic worries and delays in the peace process are providing fertile ground for the increased frustration felt by many. an eventual piece deal will have to be submitted to a popular vote to decide and in a country as divided as this one, that result of that vote will be far from uncertain. former brazilian president desilva said he will take up the job of chief of staff in current president rousseff's government. he made the comments during a pro government rally in the northeastern town. he was barred from the post by a judge. the supreme court removed the judge from the case. rousseff is fighting impeachment over accusations of

irregularities in the government budget. education standards in south america are among the lowest in the world. argentina which once prided itself on its education system has seen a steady decline in quality over the past 20 years. >> four hours by boat from the nearest town, in an area filled with small rivers and islands, these children are trying to make it to school. it's in places like this where people say it's clear argentina's education system is in crisis. >> we have problems with the ceilings of the school. electricity, drinking water. now there is a problem with dengue fever. we do what we can, but it's a challenge. >> the area is so isolated that teachers have to sleep here all week so children can have classes every day.

many have told us that sometimes going on strike is the only option they have. >> teachers go on strike to demand better conditions, better salaries. the building is in very bad condition. there's no gas, no electricity, getting a boat is difficult outside of school hours. >> 14 minutes away, another school. head mistress says the problem is there's no drinking water. water is brought in cans, but now there is a shortage, because of unpaid bills during the previous administration. >> getting drinking water is a challenge. we don't have a water sanitation system, so it's difficult. that's what we need. we are trying to give children a good education, but teachers should have better salaries. there's more than 10 schools in the area. what happens here is a reflection of what has been going on across the country for a while.

the school year started early in march, but many institutions around this area remain closed because workers have gone on strike. it is estimated that last year, children missed around two months of school because of strikes and problems with infrastructure. >> latest international tests have shown that the situation has affected education here. argentina, colombia and brazil are amongst the lowest ranking countries in the world. >> education should be a state issue. public education is important, because it is the only one that can bring equality. because rich and poor children are getting the same. this is not happening in argentina. >> that's why immediate change is needed so that these children can get the education they deserve. al jazeera, buenos aires. >> immigration is a topic in the united states. now an away are a is making it

center stage. meet figuero, the star of the classic opera be marriage of figuero. the original character was the servant to a count, this figuero lives on the estate of a california real estate tycoon. in both stories, his boss has eyes on his fiancee. >> this verse has mozart's all original music but it is in english and spanglish. >> for the cast, it's a chance to play characters modern audiences can relate to, including an aspiring actress and teenager objections the with hiphop. the star jose perez is mexican. >> it's a very interesting caste what we have here. it's a microcosm of the american society. >> figuero was first performed

200 further years ago. at heart, it's a story that pits haves against have nots. the themes are as relevant as ever in american society. >> at the manhattan school of music, productions like this are helping to draw new audittenses to opera. >> you have a name in the iconic reference that people are going to identify with and it sounds like a mash up of some kind, that you will want to see because it's new and different. >> the writer wanted to create a work as revolutionary as pose's was in his day. >> there are universal human rights that are fundamental. in today's day and age, whether we're talking about undocumented immigrant workers in the united states or syrian refugees in europe, there is a very similar

dialogue. >> an important conversation that can be sung as well as spoken. al jazeera, new york. >> you can always get the latest news and analysis on our website, the address is on your screen, aljazeera.com. game of chance. one wrong bite and my immune system goes haywire. for me, a peanut becomes an extreme threat. my heart races. my skin erupts. my stomach is under seige. i am sick, and i am in trouble, but i'm not alone.