Flared fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh border area killed three people on Wednesday, international news agencies reported. Separatists say two of their fighters were killed by Azerbaijani drone strikes, while the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reports that one of their servicemen was killed in a “terrorist act” by “illegal Armenian troops”. Nagorno-Karabakh separatist leader Arayik Harutyunyan announced a partial military mobilization on Wednesday.
In 2020, Armenia and Azerbaijan waged a six-week war that killed thousands. Azerbaijan regained control of much of Nagorno-Karabakh, after which the two countries signed a deal with Russia to end the war. Russian peacekeepers then had to ensure peace in the area occupied by separatists. Since the 1990s, Nagorno-Karabakh, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, has been under the control of ethnic Armenian residents, with support from Armenia. At the end of last year, the conflict between the two countries also briefly flared up.
The Azerbaijani defense ministry is demanding that Armenian soldiers leave the area after Wednesday’s fighting. The Russian Defense Ministry accuses Azerbaijan of breaking the ceasefire and speaks of escalating violence. The EU calls for an ‘immediate cessation of hostilities’ in the area.
Also read this article about the ‘inevitable war’ in Nagorno Karabakh
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