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AZERBAIJAN TROOPS KILLED IN BORDER CLASH
By AIDA SULTANOVA
Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303918204577448511488377748.html?m od=googlenews_wsj
June 5 2012
BAKU, Azerbaijan-Azerbaijan's defense ministry said five of its
soldiers were killed in clashes with Armenian troops alongside the
border separating the two countries, deepening tensions between the
two former Soviet nations.
The ministry said in a statement that exchanges of gunfire have been
reported over the last two days at numerous points along Azerbaijan's
western border. Armenia had said earlier that three of its soldiers
died in the clashes.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have for two decades been at odds over the
disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory, which lies within Azerbaijan,
but was taken over by Armenia during a six-year war that killed about
30,000 people and displaced 1 million.
The incidents come just as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has
embarked on a tour of the South Caucasus in the hope of mediating
progress in territorial disputes in the region.
Azerbaijan's defense ministry said one clash took place near the
village of Ashagy Askipara early Tuesday morning, after their soldiers
were attacked by Armenian commandos. Four Azeri troops were killed
in the fighting, officials said. Another soldier died in a separate
incident, the ministry said.
Armenia on Monday said three of its soldiers were killed and another
six were wounded in villages nearby.
Mrs. Clinton decried the "senseless deaths of young soldiers and
innocent civilians" as part of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict-just
hours after Monday's border clash.
Warning that Azeri-Armenian tensions could escalate into a broader
conflict with terrible consequences, Mrs. Clinton said the U.S. would
continue to press with France, Russia and others on mediation efforts.
Violations of the cease-fire have been frequent, and diplomatic
efforts to solve the conflict have failed.
From: A. Papazian
By AIDA SULTANOVA
Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303918204577448511488377748.html?m od=googlenews_wsj
June 5 2012
BAKU, Azerbaijan-Azerbaijan's defense ministry said five of its
soldiers were killed in clashes with Armenian troops alongside the
border separating the two countries, deepening tensions between the
two former Soviet nations.
The ministry said in a statement that exchanges of gunfire have been
reported over the last two days at numerous points along Azerbaijan's
western border. Armenia had said earlier that three of its soldiers
died in the clashes.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have for two decades been at odds over the
disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory, which lies within Azerbaijan,
but was taken over by Armenia during a six-year war that killed about
30,000 people and displaced 1 million.
The incidents come just as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has
embarked on a tour of the South Caucasus in the hope of mediating
progress in territorial disputes in the region.
Azerbaijan's defense ministry said one clash took place near the
village of Ashagy Askipara early Tuesday morning, after their soldiers
were attacked by Armenian commandos. Four Azeri troops were killed
in the fighting, officials said. Another soldier died in a separate
incident, the ministry said.
Armenia on Monday said three of its soldiers were killed and another
six were wounded in villages nearby.
Mrs. Clinton decried the "senseless deaths of young soldiers and
innocent civilians" as part of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict-just
hours after Monday's border clash.
Warning that Azeri-Armenian tensions could escalate into a broader
conflict with terrible consequences, Mrs. Clinton said the U.S. would
continue to press with France, Russia and others on mediation efforts.
Violations of the cease-fire have been frequent, and diplomatic
efforts to solve the conflict have failed.
From: A. Papazian