AZERI-ARMENIAN CLASH LEAVES 5 SOLIDERS DEAD

Sept 10 2009
Turkey

Azeri and Armenian soldiers on Thursday clashed near the Azerbaijan
region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Thursday, 10 September 2009 13:16

Azeri and Armenian soldiers on Thursday clashed near the Azerbaijan
region of Nagorno-Karabakh, 5 Armenian soldiers dead, Azeri media
reported.

Azeri land has been under Armenian occupation in early 1990s in
which nearly 30,000 people died and 2 million were forced to flee
their homes.

Shootings between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in the region remain
common despite a 1994 cease fire.

Tensions in the region are rising as Turkey, Armenia make progress
towards opening their joint border and establishing diplomatic
relations.

Azerbaijan’s ANS Press news agency said the fighting took place in
the Agdam district, next to Nagorno-Karabakh, which was occupied by
Armenia in the early 1990s.

Agdam is one of seven Azeri districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh
and is held by Armenian forces.

The defence ministries of Azerbaijan and Armenia could not immediately
be reached for comment but a spokesman for the Nagorno-Karabakh
Defence Ministry said the report was false.

Fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the area ended in 1994
when a ceasefire was signed. The two sides are still technically at
war because no peace treaty has been signed.

Turkey and Armenia said last month they had agreed to establish
diplomatic ties and open the border. Their presidents are due to sign
the accords in mid-October, before submitting them to the Turkish
and Armenian parliaments for approval.

Under the deal, the border should reopen within two months of
ratification, possibly by New Year.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress