Azerbaijan - Armenia continue deadly clashes

Azerbaijan accused Armenia of attacking its soldiers today, killing three of its soldiers, as clashes in the disputed Nagorno Karabakh region entered a third day despite international calls for a ceasefire.

Armenian soldiers from the Nagorno Karabakh self-defense forces fire artillery towards Azerbaijani forces on April 3. Photo: AFP.

Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said three of its servicemen were killed when Armenian forces fired rocket-propelled grenades and mortars at their positions.

"In case Armenia continues its provocations, we will launch a large-scale operation along the entire front line, using all types of weapons," AFP quoted Vagif Dargahly, spokesman for the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, as telling reporters.

The rebels, in a statement issued from Nagorno Karabakh's self-proclaimed capital Stepanakert, said Azerbaijani troops "intensified shelling of Karabakh army positions this morning, using 152 mm mortars, self-propelled guns and tanks".

Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan said the rebels "have gained new positions on the front line" but this was quickly denied by Azerbaijan as "untrue".

Russia and the West have called for restraint after fighting, described as the most violent in Nagorno Karabakh in decades, broke out on the evening of April 1. At least 33 soldiers and two civilians were killed.

Azerbaijan yesterday announced a "unilateral cessation of military operations" and "consolidation" of some strategic positions it had captured in the Nagorno Karabakh region. The Karabakh government, backed by Armenia, said it was ready to negotiate a ceasefire but only after it had regained its territory.

Armenian separatists, backed by Yerevan, control Azerbaijan’s Nagorno Karabakh region in a war that has killed some 30,000 people. A 1994 ceasefire has failed to bring about a peace deal.

Azerbaijan, an oil-rich country whose military spending has historically exceeded that of Armenia, has repeatedly threatened to use force to retake Nagorno Karabakh if ​​negotiations fail. Armenia, backed by Russia, has said it will repel any attack.

Location of Nagorno Karabakh region. Graphic: Euronews.

According to VNE