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4 KILLED IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH REGION IN SKIRMISHES BETWEEN AZERBAIJANIS, ETHNIC ARMENIANS
International Herald Tribune
The Associated Press
March 10 2008
France
BAKU, Azerbaijan: Azerbaijani and ethnic Armenian forces exchanged more
gunfire near the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh over the weekend,
killing two civilians and at least two soldiers, officials said Monday.
There has been an alarming spike in shootings that Azerbaijani
officials say has killed seven soldiers and civilians this month
alone. The violence has raised new fears that full-scale fighting
could break out again between both sides.
Armenian officials confirmed the weekend shooting, but denied there
were fatalities on either side.
Azerbaijan and Armenia remain locked in a dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh
despite more than a decade of efforts by foreign mediators led by
the U.S., Russia and France to help reach a resolution.
The region, which is inside Azerbaijan, has been under control of
ethnic Armenian forces since a six-year conflict that erupted in the
waning days of the Soviet Union. Some 30,000 people were killed and
about 1 million were driven from their homes before a cease-fire was
reached in 1994.
Gunfire breaks out regularly near Nagorno-Karabakh and the lack of
resolution on the region's status stokes persistent fears of a new war.
Azerbaijani Defense Ministry spokesman Eldar Sabiroglu said two
Azerbaijani civilians were killed and two wounded in the shooting
overnight Saturday in the Agdam region.
On Sunday, meanwhile, more small-arms fire broke out in another
adjacent region, killing one Azerbaijani soldier and injuring
another. An Armenian soldier was killed also, Sabiroglu said.
Nagorno-Karabakh's defense minister, Lt. Col. Senor Asratian, denied
there were fatalities, either civilian or military during the weekend
skirmishes.
"As long as you don't consider the regular violations of the cease-fire
from the Azerbaijani side, then one could say that the situation along
the line of control are fully normal," he told The Associated Press.
In Yerevan, meanwhile, the skirmishes prompted comment from President
Robert Kocharian, who told reporters that two ethnic Armenian
officers were wounded when Azerbaijani forces attacked an outpost on
Nagorno-Karabakh's outskirts.
"It's been a long time since artillery was used on the front line,"
he said.
He said meditators from the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe later worked to persuade both sides to halt their gunfire.
Ali Hasanov, a top official with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev's
administration, accused Armenia of sparking the violence, and he linked
it to the continuing unrest in Armenia that broke out following the
Feb. 19 presidential election.
Police violently cracked down on days of protests by supporters of
opposition candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian, who claimed the vote was
flawed. Officials say the man Kocharian endorsed - Prime Minister
Serge Sarkisian - won.
"The Armenian leadership has resorted to such provocations to distract
attention of Armenians and the international community from the
internal situation in the country" Hasanov alleged.
He said five Azerbaijani soldiers and two civilians have been killed
this month alone in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, and several civilians
and soldiers injured.
International Herald Tribune
The Associated Press
March 10 2008
France
BAKU, Azerbaijan: Azerbaijani and ethnic Armenian forces exchanged more
gunfire near the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh over the weekend,
killing two civilians and at least two soldiers, officials said Monday.
There has been an alarming spike in shootings that Azerbaijani
officials say has killed seven soldiers and civilians this month
alone. The violence has raised new fears that full-scale fighting
could break out again between both sides.
Armenian officials confirmed the weekend shooting, but denied there
were fatalities on either side.
Azerbaijan and Armenia remain locked in a dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh
despite more than a decade of efforts by foreign mediators led by
the U.S., Russia and France to help reach a resolution.
The region, which is inside Azerbaijan, has been under control of
ethnic Armenian forces since a six-year conflict that erupted in the
waning days of the Soviet Union. Some 30,000 people were killed and
about 1 million were driven from their homes before a cease-fire was
reached in 1994.
Gunfire breaks out regularly near Nagorno-Karabakh and the lack of
resolution on the region's status stokes persistent fears of a new war.
Azerbaijani Defense Ministry spokesman Eldar Sabiroglu said two
Azerbaijani civilians were killed and two wounded in the shooting
overnight Saturday in the Agdam region.
On Sunday, meanwhile, more small-arms fire broke out in another
adjacent region, killing one Azerbaijani soldier and injuring
another. An Armenian soldier was killed also, Sabiroglu said.
Nagorno-Karabakh's defense minister, Lt. Col. Senor Asratian, denied
there were fatalities, either civilian or military during the weekend
skirmishes.
"As long as you don't consider the regular violations of the cease-fire
from the Azerbaijani side, then one could say that the situation along
the line of control are fully normal," he told The Associated Press.
In Yerevan, meanwhile, the skirmishes prompted comment from President
Robert Kocharian, who told reporters that two ethnic Armenian
officers were wounded when Azerbaijani forces attacked an outpost on
Nagorno-Karabakh's outskirts.
"It's been a long time since artillery was used on the front line,"
he said.
He said meditators from the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe later worked to persuade both sides to halt their gunfire.
Ali Hasanov, a top official with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev's
administration, accused Armenia of sparking the violence, and he linked
it to the continuing unrest in Armenia that broke out following the
Feb. 19 presidential election.
Police violently cracked down on days of protests by supporters of
opposition candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian, who claimed the vote was
flawed. Officials say the man Kocharian endorsed - Prime Minister
Serge Sarkisian - won.
"The Armenian leadership has resorted to such provocations to distract
attention of Armenians and the international community from the
internal situation in the country" Hasanov alleged.
He said five Azerbaijani soldiers and two civilians have been killed
this month alone in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, and several civilians
and soldiers injured.