Dozens killed in Armenia-azerbaijan clash
YEREVAN: Armenia said on Tuesday that nearly 50 of its soldiers had been killed in the worst clashes with Azerbaijan since their war two years ago, but Russia said it had convinced the historic rivals to agree to a rapid ceasefire.
Ater several hours of fierce border fighting overnight, Armenia appealed to world leaders for help, saying Azerbaijani forces were trying to advance on its territory.
The fighting was the worst since the end of a 2020 war between the ex-soviet republics over the contested Nagorno-karabakh region that let more than 6,500 killed on both sides.
It came with Yerevan’s closest ally Moscow — which deployed thousands of peacekeepers in the region ater the war — distracted by its six-month invasion of Ukraine.
But Russia said it had succeeded in bringing the clashes to a halt, with the foreign ministry in Moscow saying a ceasefire had been agreed from 9:00 am Moscow time.
“We expect that an agreement reached as a result of Russian mediation on a ceasefire... will be carried out in full,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that it was “extremely concerned” by the uptick in fighting.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed parliament on Tuesday morning, ater he called French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to demand “an adequate reaction” to “Azerbaijan’s aggressive acts.”
“For the moment, we have 49 (troops) killed and unfortunately it’s not the final figure,”
Pashinyan told lawmakers.
Azerbaijan said it had also suffered casualties in the fighting, but did not specify the number of dead.
The defence ministry in Yerevan said the clashes started early Tuesday, with Armenian territory coming under fire from artillery, mortars and drones in the direction of the cities of Goris, Sotk, and Jermuk.
“The enemy is trying to advance (into Armenian territory),” it said in a statement.
Butazerbaijanaccusedarmeniaof“large-scale subversive acts” near the districts of Dashkesan, Kelbajar and Lachin and said its armed forces were responding with “limited and targeted steps, neutralising Armenian firing positions.”
Turkey, a long-standing political and military sponsor of Azerbaijan, accused Armenia of being responsible for the outbreak in fighting and urged Yerevan to negotiate.