AZERBAIJAN SAYS 3 ARMENIAN SOLDIERS DEAD IN CLASH
Reuters
Crisis/idUSLR521757
Jan 28 2009
UK
BAKU, Jan 27 (Reuters) – Azerbaijan said on Tuesday its forces
had killed three Armenian soldiers in fighting near breakaway
Nagorno-Karabakh late on Monday.
The Azeri Defence Ministry said Armenian soldiers had attacked an
Azeri checkpoint in the Agdam district adjacent to the rebel territory.
Officials in the region’s Armenian-backed administration could not
be reached for comment.
Mainly populated by Armenians, Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from
Azerbaijan in the late 1980s, sparking a war that killed an estimated
30,000 people. Armenian forces also seized seven districts surrounding
Nagorno-Karabakh.
A ceasefire was agreed in 1994 but clashes are common between forces
manning the frontline.
"Three Armenian soldiers died in fighting which lasted for around
one hour in the village of Javakhirli, Agdam district, when Armenian
forces attempted to seize an Azeri checkpoint," the Azeri Defence
Ministry said in a statement.
It said one body had been left in Azeri-controlled
territory. (Reporting by Afet Mehtiyeva; writing by Matt Robinson)