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ARMENIAN SOLDIERS KILLED IN BORDER CLASH WITH AZERBAIJAN
Reuters
Jan 23 2015
YEREVAN Fri Jan 23, 2015 9:21pm IST
Jan 23 (Reuters) - At least two Armenian soldiers were killed in
clashes with troops from neighbouring Azerbaijan on Friday, but the
former Soviet republics gave conflicting death tolls and disputed
who was to blame.
Sporadic clashes between the two countries have thwarted international
efforts to end a territorial dispute that broke out in the dying
years of the Soviet Union and has killed about 30,000 people.
Armenia's Defence Ministry accused the Azeri side of killing two of
its soldiers. "All responsibility for escalation of the situation and
its consequences lies with the political and military leadership of
Azerbaijan," it said in a statement.
Azerbaijan's Defence Ministry, meanwhile, accused Armenian soldiers
of trying to cross the border and said 12 of them had been killed
and 20 wounded. It said the Armenians were the first to open fire,
and there were no Azeri casualties.
Skirmishes around the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and along
the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan underline the risk of
broader conflict in the South Caucasus, a region criss-crossed by
oil and gas pipelines.
Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region within Azerbaijan, is controlled
by ethnic Armenians who form the majority of its population. The
enclave's defence ministry said three Azeri soldiers were killed in
skirmishes with ethnic Armenian separatists on Thursday night.
According to reports in Armenia, two Armenian soldiers were killed
and one was wounded in similar clashes earlier this week.
Armenian-backed forces seized Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding
Azeri districts in the early 1990s. Efforts to reach a permanent
settlement have failed, despite mediation led by France, Russia and
the United States.
Oil-producing Azerbaijan, host to global majors including BP , Chevron
and ExxonMobil, frequently threatens to take the mountain region back
by force, and is spending heavily on its armed forces.
Armenia, an ally of Russia, says it would not stand by if
Nagorno-Karabakh were attacked. (Reporting by Hasmik Lazarian in
Yerevan and Nailia Bagirova in Baku; Writing by Margarita Antidze;
Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/01/23/armenia-azerbaijan-conflict-idINL6N0V225A20150123
From: A. Papazian
Reuters
Jan 23 2015
YEREVAN Fri Jan 23, 2015 9:21pm IST
Jan 23 (Reuters) - At least two Armenian soldiers were killed in
clashes with troops from neighbouring Azerbaijan on Friday, but the
former Soviet republics gave conflicting death tolls and disputed
who was to blame.
Sporadic clashes between the two countries have thwarted international
efforts to end a territorial dispute that broke out in the dying
years of the Soviet Union and has killed about 30,000 people.
Armenia's Defence Ministry accused the Azeri side of killing two of
its soldiers. "All responsibility for escalation of the situation and
its consequences lies with the political and military leadership of
Azerbaijan," it said in a statement.
Azerbaijan's Defence Ministry, meanwhile, accused Armenian soldiers
of trying to cross the border and said 12 of them had been killed
and 20 wounded. It said the Armenians were the first to open fire,
and there were no Azeri casualties.
Skirmishes around the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and along
the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan underline the risk of
broader conflict in the South Caucasus, a region criss-crossed by
oil and gas pipelines.
Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region within Azerbaijan, is controlled
by ethnic Armenians who form the majority of its population. The
enclave's defence ministry said three Azeri soldiers were killed in
skirmishes with ethnic Armenian separatists on Thursday night.
According to reports in Armenia, two Armenian soldiers were killed
and one was wounded in similar clashes earlier this week.
Armenian-backed forces seized Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding
Azeri districts in the early 1990s. Efforts to reach a permanent
settlement have failed, despite mediation led by France, Russia and
the United States.
Oil-producing Azerbaijan, host to global majors including BP , Chevron
and ExxonMobil, frequently threatens to take the mountain region back
by force, and is spending heavily on its armed forces.
Armenia, an ally of Russia, says it would not stand by if
Nagorno-Karabakh were attacked. (Reporting by Hasmik Lazarian in
Yerevan and Nailia Bagirova in Baku; Writing by Margarita Antidze;
Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/01/23/armenia-azerbaijan-conflict-idINL6N0V225A20150123
From: A. Papazian