Tweet
AZERBAIJAN TROOPS KILLED IN ARMENIA BORDER CLASH
By Aida Sultanova
Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2012/06/05/azerbaijan_troops_killed_in_armenia_border_clash/
June 5 2012
MA
BAKU, Azerbaijan-Azerbaijan's defense ministry said Tuesday that 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 U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham
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.
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.
"I am very concerned about the danger of escalation of tensions and the
senseless deaths of young soldiers and innocent civilians," Clinton
told reporters after a dinner with Armenia's president and foreign
minister. "The use of force will not resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict," she said, urging the sides to refrain from violence.
Warning that Azeri-Armenian tensions could escalate into a broader
conflict with terrible consequences, 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. The U.S. hopes that at the
least Armenia and Azerbaijan can agree to a set of basic principles
that might lead to peace. These include the return of territories
and uprooted people to their homes, and an eventual vote on the
area's future.
By Aida Sultanova
Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2012/06/05/azerbaijan_troops_killed_in_armenia_border_clash/
June 5 2012
MA
BAKU, Azerbaijan-Azerbaijan's defense ministry said Tuesday that 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 U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham
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.
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.
"I am very concerned about the danger of escalation of tensions and the
senseless deaths of young soldiers and innocent civilians," Clinton
told reporters after a dinner with Armenia's president and foreign
minister. "The use of force will not resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict," she said, urging the sides to refrain from violence.
Warning that Azeri-Armenian tensions could escalate into a broader
conflict with terrible consequences, 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. The U.S. hopes that at the
least Armenia and Azerbaijan can agree to a set of basic principles
that might lead to peace. These include the return of territories
and uprooted people to their homes, and an eventual vote on the
area's future.