AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIANS TRADE BLAME OVER VIOLENCE, 1 DEAD
Today's Zaman
June 6 2012
Turkey
6 June 2012 / REUTERS WITH TODAYSZAMAN.COM, BAKU/YEREVAN
Azerbaijan and Armenia-backed so-called Karabakh army traded
accusations on Wednesday over cross border violence that killed one
person, just days after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned
it could lead to regional conflict.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have accused each other of triggering clashes
that have now killed a total of nine people on both sides, prompting
the worries over a resumption of fighting in a region criss-crossed
by energy pipelines to Europe.
Mainly Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh, which broke away from Muslim
Azerbaijan with the help of Christian Armenia as the Soviet Union
collapsed, accused Baku of trying to infiltrate three military
positions, prompting the skirmish in which one soldier died.
"Subdivisions of the Nagorno-Karabakh army entered into a defensive
battle and threw the enemy back to their original position. As a
result of the battle on the Armenian side one sergeant died and two
men were injured," the statement from the so-called military said.
Oil-producing Azerbaijan, host to oil majors including BP, Chevron
and ExxonMobil, frequently threatens to take the mountain enclave
back by force, and is spending heavily on its armed forces.
Clinton, who visited Armenia on Monday, voiced concern that the
violence between Azerbaijan and Armenia could lead to a "much broader
conflict".
Azerbaijan's Defence Ministry said Armenian forces had violated
a ceasefire along their shared border on two occasions since late
Tuesday, but its forces suffered no losses.
War between ethnic Azeris and Armenians erupted in 1991 over the
Nagorno-Karabakh region. A ceasefire was signed in 1994, but sporadic
violence still flares along Azerbaijan's borders with Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Nagorno-Karabakh has run its own affairs with the heavy military and
financial backing of Armenia since the war, when Armenian-backed
forces seized control of the enclave and seven surrounding Azeri
districts forming a land corridor with Armenia.
Today's Zaman
June 6 2012
Turkey
6 June 2012 / REUTERS WITH TODAYSZAMAN.COM, BAKU/YEREVAN
Azerbaijan and Armenia-backed so-called Karabakh army traded
accusations on Wednesday over cross border violence that killed one
person, just days after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned
it could lead to regional conflict.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have accused each other of triggering clashes
that have now killed a total of nine people on both sides, prompting
the worries over a resumption of fighting in a region criss-crossed
by energy pipelines to Europe.
Mainly Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh, which broke away from Muslim
Azerbaijan with the help of Christian Armenia as the Soviet Union
collapsed, accused Baku of trying to infiltrate three military
positions, prompting the skirmish in which one soldier died.
"Subdivisions of the Nagorno-Karabakh army entered into a defensive
battle and threw the enemy back to their original position. As a
result of the battle on the Armenian side one sergeant died and two
men were injured," the statement from the so-called military said.
Oil-producing Azerbaijan, host to oil majors including BP, Chevron
and ExxonMobil, frequently threatens to take the mountain enclave
back by force, and is spending heavily on its armed forces.
Clinton, who visited Armenia on Monday, voiced concern that the
violence between Azerbaijan and Armenia could lead to a "much broader
conflict".
Azerbaijan's Defence Ministry said Armenian forces had violated
a ceasefire along their shared border on two occasions since late
Tuesday, but its forces suffered no losses.
War between ethnic Azeris and Armenians erupted in 1991 over the
Nagorno-Karabakh region. A ceasefire was signed in 1994, but sporadic
violence still flares along Azerbaijan's borders with Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Nagorno-Karabakh has run its own affairs with the heavy military and
financial backing of Armenia since the war, when Armenian-backed
forces seized control of the enclave and seven surrounding Azeri
districts forming a land corridor with Armenia.