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Updated November 17th, 2021 at 11:27 IST

Armenia announces ceasefire after troops killed, detained in Azerbaijan border clashes

At least 15 military soldiers of Armenia were reportedly killed and 2 from Azerbaijan were wounded as troops clashed in the Nagorno-Karabakh border on Tuesday.

Reported by: Dipaneeta Das
Armenia
IMAGE: AP/Pixabay | Image:self
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At least fifteen military soldiers of Armenia were reportedly killed and two from Azerbaijan were wounded after troops clashed in the Nagorno-Karabakh border on Tuesday. The Armenian Defence Forces alleged that the Azerbaijan military opened fire, killing one of their servicemen and detaining 12 others. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan accused Armenia of "large-scale provocation" on the border after troops captured two Azeri military positions.

Tensions between both the ex-Soviet countries have escalated after the arch-foes engaged in a six-week war last year over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. While there was no immediate confirmation from the Armenian government over the casualties of war, an Armenian lawmaker Eduard Aghajanyan informed the Associated Press that 15 soldiers were killed in Tuesday's clash. Later in the evening, the Russian Defence Ministry reported that hostilities across the Armenian-Azerbaijan border have ceased after intermediation from Moscow, the same was confirmed by Armenia. Describing the situation as "relatively stabilised," the Azerbaijan military troops confirmed that they "stopped the enemy in advance" after their detained two armed Armenian servicemen, a report by France 24 mentioned.

Clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan

Armenia and Azerbaijan have locked horns over the decade-old dispute in the Nagorno-Karabakh separatist region. It is to be noted that the region lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by the latter's government since the 1994 separatist war ended, the Associated Press reported. Tensions between the two neighbours have started soaring from May this year after Armenia protested in a so-called "incursion" by Azerbaijanis into the former's territory. Notably, the clashes have frequently erupted in areas where both nations are yet to be demarcated.

On Monday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan slammed Azerbaijan for illegal infringement of the border into Armenia's territory. Following this, both the countries engaged in the use of artillery that escalated quickly until Tuesday. Armenian Ambassador Mher Marghyan alleged that Azerbaijan had launched "armed attacks" that undermined international efforts to ensure peace prospects in the area, as per AP.


Armenia confirms Moscow-brokered ceasefire

Meanwhile, Armenia’s Defence Ministry later on Tuesday announced that the conflicting nations have agreed to the ceasefire brokered by Russia. As per DW, the announcement came after European Council President Charles Michel spoke to Armenia's PM Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev urging them to end hostilities. On Tuesday, France, which is home to the largest Armenian population, appealed to Russia to intervene in the matter and called on the nations in conflict to abide by the terms of the ceasefire signed in November 2020. The Kremlin later confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to PM Pashiyan and Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu spoke to Azerbaijan's President Aliyev to call on cessation of violence, Interfax news agency reported, as per DW.

For the unversed, earlier in November 2020, Russian secured a peace deal between both regions after six-week of clashes between the troops killed over 6000 people. The Russia-brokered truce allowed Azerbaijan to reinstate control over large areas of the disputed land and surrounding areas controlled by Armenia-backed separatists.

(With inputs from AP)

(Image: AP/Pixabay)

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Published November 17th, 2021 at 10:44 IST

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