The 2008 Mardakert skirmishes began on March 4, 2008 after the 2008 Armenian election protests. It involved the heaviest fighting between ethnic Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh since the 1994 ceasefire after the Nagorno-Karabakh War. Armenian sources accused Azerbaijan of trying to take advantage of ongoing unrest in Armenia. Azerbaijani sources blamed Armenia, claiming that the Armenian government was trying to divert attention from internal tensions in Armenia. Prior to the skirmishes, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev had insisted on numerous occasions that his country was ready to re-take the region by force, and had been buying the military hardware and ammunition to do so. Following the incident, on March 14 the United Nations General Assembly by a recorded vote of 39 in favour to 7 against adopted a new resolution, demanding the immediate withdrawal of all Armenian forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.