Yerevan: Fighting on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan has killed about 100 soldiers as attacks on both sides on Tuesday fed fears of broader hostilities breaking out between the long-time adversaries.
Armenia said at least 49 of its soldiers were killed; Azerbaijan said it lost 50.
The fighting erupted minutes after midnight with Azerbaijani forces unleashing an artillery barrage and drone attacks in many sections of Armenian territory, according to Armenia’s Defence Ministry.
The ministry said fighting continued during the day despite Russia’s attempt to broker a quick cease-fire.
Shelling grew less intense, but Azerbaijani troops still were trying to advance into Armenian territory, it said.
It added that the Azerbaijani shelling damaged civilian infrastructure and wounded an unspecified number of people.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said it was responding to a “large-scale provocation” by Armenia late Monday and early Tuesday.
It said Armenian troops planted mines and fired on Azerbaijani military positions.
The two countries have been locked in a decades-old conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, which is part of Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. Azerbaijan reclaimed broad swaths of Nagorno-Karabakh in a six-week war in 2020 that killed more than 6,600 people.