SOLDIER DETAINED IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH RETURNED TO AZERBAIJANI AUTHORITIES
The Associated Press
International Herald Tribune, France
Jan 16 2007
BAKU, Azerbaijan: An Azerbaijani soldier who was detained in the
dispute territory of Nagorno-Karabakh was handed over to Azerbaijani
authorities Tuesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross
and local officials said.
The soldier was detained Dec. 31 by ethnic Armenian authorities who
control Nagorno-Karabakh, according to Azerbaijani and Nagorno-Karabakh
officials. The International Committee of the Red Cross said the
handover took place under its auspices as an intermediary.
Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region in Azerbaijan, that has been
under the control of Armenian and ethnic-Armenian forces since a 1994
cease-fire halted a six-year separatist conflict that killed 30,000
people and drove about 1 million from their homes.
Soldiers face off across a tense front line, and there are occasional
exchanges of gunfire. Azerbaijani authorities say a soldier detained
Dec. 24 remains in ethnic Armenian hands.
The region’s final status remains unresolved and years of talks
under the auspices of international mediators have brought few
visible results.
The ICRC said it has helped repatriate or transfer 661 people since
it began its activities in connection with the conflict in 1992.