AZERBAIJANI FORCES KILL KARABAKH SOLDIER: SEPARATISTS
Agence France Presse
May 21, 2014 Wednesday 12:41 PM GMT
YEREVAN, May 21 2014
Azerbaijani troops killed an ethnic Armenian soldier from the disputed
Nagorny Karabakh region's forces in a fresh clash along the volatile
frontline, the Armenian-backed region's defence ministry said on
Wednesday.
The soldier, "20-year-old Artur Oganjanian, died after he was mortally
wounded on Tuesday by Azerbaijani troops at the southern sector of the
line of separation of Azerbaijani and Karabakh forces," the ministry
said in a statement.
Recent months have seen an increase in violence along the
Azerbaijan-Armenia border and at the Karabakh frontline, with both
sides regularly accusing each other of tit-for-tat raids and at least
nine soldiers killed.
Last year, around 20 soldiers from both sides were reportedly killed
in border shootouts.
Armenia-backed separatists seized Nagorny Karabakh from Azerbaijan in
a 1990s war that killed 30,000 people. Despite years of negotiations
since a 1994 ceasefire, the two sides have yet to sign a peace deal.
Azerbaijan has threatened to take back the disputed region by force
if negotiations do not yield results, while Armenia has vowed to
retaliate against any military action.
mkh-im/mm/lc
From: A. Papazian
Agence France Presse
May 21, 2014 Wednesday 12:41 PM GMT
YEREVAN, May 21 2014
Azerbaijani troops killed an ethnic Armenian soldier from the disputed
Nagorny Karabakh region's forces in a fresh clash along the volatile
frontline, the Armenian-backed region's defence ministry said on
Wednesday.
The soldier, "20-year-old Artur Oganjanian, died after he was mortally
wounded on Tuesday by Azerbaijani troops at the southern sector of the
line of separation of Azerbaijani and Karabakh forces," the ministry
said in a statement.
Recent months have seen an increase in violence along the
Azerbaijan-Armenia border and at the Karabakh frontline, with both
sides regularly accusing each other of tit-for-tat raids and at least
nine soldiers killed.
Last year, around 20 soldiers from both sides were reportedly killed
in border shootouts.
Armenia-backed separatists seized Nagorny Karabakh from Azerbaijan in
a 1990s war that killed 30,000 people. Despite years of negotiations
since a 1994 ceasefire, the two sides have yet to sign a peace deal.
Azerbaijan has threatened to take back the disputed region by force
if negotiations do not yield results, while Armenia has vowed to
retaliate against any military action.
mkh-im/mm/lc
From: A. Papazian