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Clashes break out over Nagorno-Karabakh

August 24, 2015

Shelling has erupted between Azerbaijan and the breakaway region over the weekend. Shaky 1994 ceasefire is constantly violated between former Soviet republics.

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Bergkarabach Hauptstadt Stepanakert
Image: Getty Images/B. Hoffman

Azerbaijan and its separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region have reported a fierce clash, with each side claiming to have killed several enemy soldiers, the two sides said Monday.

Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said that its forces killed five ethnic Armenian soldiers and wounded eight others, while three Azerbaijani soldiers were lightly wounded.

That account was disputed by Nagorno-Karabakh separatists who said four Azeri soldiers were killed and more than 15 wounded, Armenian news agencies reported.

Both sides accused the other of being the first to open fire with artillery.

Azerbaijan is locked in a decades-long conflict with neigboring Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan that seceded following the breakup of the Soviet Union.

Disputed territory

Karte Nagorno Karabakh Azerbaijan Englisch
Image: DW

Energy-rich Azerbaijan, whose military spending exceeds Armenia's entire state budget, has threatened to take back the region by force. And Armenia, which is heavily armed by Russia, has vowed to repel any offensive.

Efforts to reach a permanent settlement have failed despite mediation led by France, Russia and the US and a shaky ceasefire signed in 1994. The conflict has claimed about 30,000 lives and displaced many more.

The two sides regularly exchange fire across a the rontline but last year saw clashes hit a new high including the downing of an Armenian helicopter, sparking fears of a fresh escalation and all-out war.

jar/jil (AFP, AP, Reuters)