New clashes have erupted between Azerbaijan and Armenia, in a resumption of decades-old hostilities between Baku and Yerevan over the contested Nagorno-Karabakh area.
The combating on Wednesday occurred a day after practically 100 troopers have been killed within the deadliest battle between the 2 Caucasus neighbors since 2020.
Armenia’s Protection Ministry accused Azerbaijan of firing artillery, mortar shells, and small arms in a brand new assault.
“The state of affairs on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border remained tense,” it mentioned, stressing that Baku has launched assaults on its sovereign territory.
Azerbaijan additionally accused Armenia of firing mortars and artillery towards its navy models.
“Our positions are periodically being fired towards in the mean time,” Azerbaijan’s Protection Ministry mentioned. “Our models are taking the required response measures.”
Combating on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan on Tuesday left not less than 49 Armenian and 50 Azerbaijani troopers useless.
The battle erupted at midnight, minutes after a ceasefire settlement between the 2 nations got here into pressure.
Armenia accused Azerbaijan of firing within the path of the southern Armenian cities of Goris, Kapan, and Jermuk with the assistance of drones.
Nonetheless, Azerbaijan rejected the Armenian declare, saying its forces have been finishing up counter-measures in retaliation for “large-scale Armenian provocation.”
Tuesday’s combating was the newest flare-up in tensions between the 2 estranged neighbors since 1000’s have been killed in a 44-day battle over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh that resulted in November 2020.
The lethal battle, which claimed over 65,000 lives on either side, ended with a Russian-brokered ceasefire, however tensions continued.
Final week, Armenia accused Azerbaijan of killing one in every of its troopers in a border shootout.
In August, Azerbaijan mentioned one in every of its troopers had been killed whereas Armenia mentioned two of its troops had been killed and greater than a dozen injured in border clashes.
On Tuesday, Russia urged each events “to chorus from additional escalation and present restraint.”
UN Secretary-Common Antonio Guterres additionally known as on Armenia and Azerbaijan “to take quick steps to deescalate tensions, train most restraint and resolve any excellent points via dialogue” and implement earlier agreements.
The UN Safety Council scheduled closed-door consultations Wednesday on the renewed combating.
Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally acknowledged as a part of Azerbaijan however has been populated by ethnic Armenians.
Russia has deployed 1,960 peacekeepers to the area for an preliminary five-year interval. For the reason that truce, the 2 sides have accused one another of breaching the peace deal amid sporadic combating.
Since February 24, when Russia began a navy offensive in Ukraine, the European Union has been functioning as the important thing mediator between the 2 sides. Armenian Prime Miister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held a gathering late final month in Brussels to debate methods to achieve a peace settlement.
