Indian police officers involved in the killing of 10 Sikh pilgrims in 1991 have been sentenced to life by a court in Lucknow.

The forty-seven policemen were found guilty of staging a "fake encounter", a term used to describe a planned extrajudicial killing. They lied that the Sikh men were militants and armed.

The Azeri government announced a unilateral ceasefire on Sunday, after clashes erupted with Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, however reports indicate that the violence continued.

"Azerbaijan, showing goodwill, has decided to unilaterally cease hostilities," Azerbbaijan's defence ministry said in a statement, warning that it would retaliate if its forces were attacked.

But David Babayan, a Karabakh military spokesman, told AFP news agency that fighting had not stopped.

The United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide said the conviction of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity “will resonate across the world” as he reiterated the importance of accountability.

In a statement released in response to the conviction Adama Dieng said the verdict “sends a clear message that impunity will not prevail and that no one is above the law.”

“This verdict will resonate across the world and is a warning to all those who are committing or condoning the commission of acts that can incite or constitute atrocity crimes: it sends the message that wherever and whoever you are, sooner or later you will also face the weight of justice,” he said.

Mr Dieng went on to add that the verdict “is not only about the past but is also about the future”. “Accountability constitutes a critical component of prevention and also an important step along the path to national post-crisis reconciliation,” he said, adding “this verdict will assist the entire region to think about what happened, learn the lessons of the past and chart a future that fully acknowledges the past”.

The Columbian government has announced it will hold peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN), the country's second-largest militant group after Farc.

Officials from both sides, who have been fighting for over five decades, made the announcement in Caracas, Venezuela, where they have been engaged in informal discussions.

A joint statement was read by the former peace commissioner Frank Pearl and ELN rebel Antonio Garcia at the Venezuelan foreign ministry in Caracas, the BBC reported on Wednesday.