Azerbaijan-Armenia skirmishes turn deadliest in 20 years

Azerbaijan and Armenia reported the deadliest fighting near the Nagorno-Karabakh region since the two countries signed a cease-fire 20 years ago, Bloomberg News reported.

Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry confirmed eight of the country’s soldiers were killed in clashes with Armenian troops and vowed to avenge the deaths. Armenia said two of its servicemen were killed. Azerbaijan’s APA news service said Azeri soldiers repelled an attack by Armenian forces, while Armenia said its troops were resisting a “sabotage attack.”

The escalating death toll raises tensions between the two former Soviet republics in the volatile Caucasus region, which borders Turkey and Iran. Armenia took over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous enclave about the size of Rhode Island, and seven surrounding districts from Azerbaijan in a war after the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 30,000 people were killed and more than a million displaced before Russia brokered a 1994 truce.

Azerbaijan, which in December signed $45 billion contracts with a BP Plc-led group to pipe natural gas to Europe, has repeatedly threatened to use force to regain control of the territory should peace efforts fail.

Bakudaily.az