3 more killed in Nagorno-Karabakh despite truce
At least three people, including an Armenian soldier, have been killed in a fresh wave of clashes over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in Azerbaijan as the two sides continue to blame each other for the violations a shaky ceasefire.
Officials in the self-proclaimed ministry of defense in Nagorno-Karabakh region on Friday accused Azerbaijani forces of violating a holding ceasefire on the line of contact by firing 2,000 shots and two mortar shells.
A statement said an Armenian soldier, identified as Private Hrach Muradyan, 33, was killed on the line of contact. Another statement said two ethnic Armenian militia troops were also killed as mortars hit the ethnic Armenian positions in Karabakh. The report said the firing had left some wounded.
Armenia also accused Azerbaijani forces of firing shots in the direction of the troops on the border, saying three villages of Karmir, Ttudjur, and Baganis were mostly affected. Defense ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan said in a statement that the attack had no casualties.
The clashes were the first since Russia managed to mediate a ceasefire between the warring sides from Tuesday, ending several days of fighting that claimed at least 90 lives.
Officials in Azerbaijan responded to the allegations on Friday by saying their armed forces responded to Armenian artillery strikes.
Sources said the warring sides had reached an agreement to restore a ceasefire regime from 1100 GMT on Friday for five hours in a bid to find the bodies of those killed in the day.
The new wave of unrest in Karabakh and surrounding areas in Azerbaijan have sparked concerns about resumption of hostilities in the strategic region which has been relatively calm since the end a three-year war in 1994. Fears are also high that the war could trigger a broader conflict in the Caucasus region between Russia and Turkey.
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