Three soldiers killed in Azeri-Armenian clashes
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One Azeri soldier and 2 Armenian soldiers were killed in renewed clashes in the Kalbajar region.
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Armenian soldiers standing in a trench near Nagorno-Karabakh's town of Martuni, April 8, 2016 (Reuters)
On Thursday, Armenia and Azerbaijan reported clashes that resulted in the killing of one Azeri soldier and two Armenian soldiers. The incident occurred in the Kalbajar area on the border.
Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry claimed that the cause of the soldier's death is "provocation" by Armenian soldiers and that "all responsibility for tension lies with the military-political leadership of Armenia."
On its part, Armenia said that 2 of its soldiers were killed in the clashes, condemning the "provocative actions" of the Azeri army.
In 2020, the 2 Caucasus nations experienced a war that resulted in thousands of deaths, over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Earlier, Armenia accused Baku of deploying drones and artillery against Armenian troops in the Kalbajar region, on the eastern border, which was assigned to Azerbaijan after the Russian-mediated ceasefire agreement.
Soldiers injured, killed in Armenia-Azerbaijan border clashes
Last month, the Armenian Defense Ministry said 8 Armenian soldiers had sustained injuries in the ongoing clashes, six of whom were in critical condition.
"On December 10, during the resistance of the offensive activities of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces subdivisions in the eastern direction of Armenia (Gegharkunik province), the Armenian side has one victim, a serviceman of Armenian Armed Force, Vahe Manaseryan, and eight injured servicemen," the Defense Ministry declared in a statement.
"Eight more servicemen are injured, the condition of the six is assessed as severe, the other two-medium and light," the Ministry added.
Officials in Baku said an Azerbaijani soldier died in the clashes with Armenian forces.
Baku's Defense Ministry said an Azerbaijani soldier "was killed overnight as a result of a provocation by Armenia's armed forces" near the countries' shared border.
"Full responsibility for the escalation lies with Armenia's political and military leaders," the ministry said in a statement.
Azerbaijan blames Armenia for any escalation, and Armenia always calls on Azerbaijan to "refrain from provocative actions."
