Azerbaijani serviceman listed as missing in action in Nagorno Karabakh

The serviceman went missing during military operations on the contact line of Azerbaijani and Armenian troops.

"The search operations were conducted under the mediation of the international organizations," the Azerbaijani state commission said. "The purpose of these operations was to find Azerbaijani and Armenian servicemen who went missing during the military operations on the line of contact of both countries' troops from April 2 to April 5."

The Azerbaijani state commission also said that a body of Armenian serviceman was handed over to the other side.

On the night of April 2, 2016, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire from the Armenian side, which used large-caliber weapons, mortars and grenade launchers. The armed clashes resulted in deaths and injuries among the Azerbaijani population. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-attack, which led to liberation of several strategic heights and settlements.

Military operations were stopped on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian armies on Apr. 5 at 12:00 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours) with the consent of the sides, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry earlier said. Ignoring the agreement, the Armenian side again started violating the ceasefire.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.