Armenia-Azerbaijan border fighting escalates; 16 killed

YEREVAN, Armenia Armenia and Azerbaijan forces fought Tuesday with heavy artillery and drones, leaving a minimum of 16 other people killed on all sides, together with an Azerbaijani basic, within the worst outbreak of hostilities in years.

Skirmishes at the unstable border between the 2 South Caucasus international locations started Sunday. Azerbaijan mentioned it has misplaced 11 servicemen and one civilian in 3 days of combating, and Armenia mentioned 4 of its troops have been killed Tuesday.

The 2 neighbors within the South Caucasus were locked in struggle over Nagorno-Karabakh, a area of Azerbaijan that has been underneath the regulate of ethnic Armenian forces subsidized by means of Armenia since a conflict there resulted in 1994. Global efforts to settle the struggle have stalled.

Armenian and Azerbaijani forces have ceaselessly engaged in clashes. The present skirmishes seem to mark probably the most severe spike in hostilities since 2016 when ratings have been killed in 4 days of combating.

The most recent incident started Sunday when Armenian and Azerbaijani troops exchanged fire within the northern segment in their border. Officers in each nations blamed each and every different for beginning the combating and mentioned that sporadic shelling has persisted.

Azerbaijan’s Protection Ministry mentioned two senior officials, Maj. Gen. Polad Hashimov and Col. Ilgar Mirzayev, have been killed in combating Tuesday along side 5 different servicemen.

Armenian officers claimed that Azerbaijani drones introduced an assault at the Tavush province the city of Berd, focused on civilian infrastructure. Protection Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan mentioned that considered one of Azerbaijani drones was once downed.

Stepanyan additionally charged that the Azerbaijani army used civilians as shields, striking artillery on the subject of the village of Dondar Gushchu within the Tovuz district about 10 kilometers (six miles) from the border.

The Azerbaijani facet has surrounded its personal inhabitants with artillery batteries, making them a goal, after which complained that the Armenian forces fired in that route, she mentioned on Fb the place she posted photographs of the Azerbaijani artillery across the village.

The Azerbaijani army denied shedding a drone and in flip claimed that its forces shot down an Armenian drone and destroyed an Armenian artillery gadget along side its team.

As hostilities persisted, Armenia additionally accused Azerbaijan of launching cyberattacks on Armenian executive web pages.

Armenian High Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Monday accused Azerbaijan of upsetting the clashes and warned that it will endure accountability for the unpredictable penalties. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev denounced what he described as any other provocation of Armenia and vowed to offer protection to Azerbaijans nationwide territory.

Turkey, which has shut ethnic and cultural ties with Azerbaijan, has voiced sturdy toughen to Baku within the struggle.

The US and Russia, which co-chair the Minsk staff of the Group for Safety and Cooperation in Europe that has attempted to barter a agreement of the Nagorno-Karabakh struggle, have condemned the violence and referred to as for restraint.

Russian Overseas Minister Sergey Lavrov had separate calls along with his opposite numbers in Armenia and Azerbaijan on Monday to name for an instantaneous ceasefire.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, mentioned Tuesday that Moscow was once deeply nervous concerning the combating and stands able to play mediator.

U.N. Secretary-Common Antonio Guterres additionally expressed concern. His spokesman, Stphane Dujarric, mentioned in a observation that the U.N. leader urges an instantaneous finish to the combating and calls on all concerned to take instant steps to deescalate the location and chorus from provocative rhetoric.

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This tale was once first revealed on July 14, 2020. It was once up to date on July 15, 2020 to right kind the transliterated identify of the province the place Armenia accused Azerbaijans army of launching a drone assault. It’s Tavush province, now not Tuvush. It was once up to date once more on July 17, 2020 to right kind the primary identify of Azerbaijan’s president. He’s Ilham Aliyev, now not Ilhan Aliyev.

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Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, and Edith M. Lederer on the United Countries, contributed to this record.

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