At least three soldiers dead in latest Armenia-Azerbaijan border clash

By Mark Dovich

A fresh outbreak of fighting along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border on Tuesday has left at least two Armenian soldiers and one Azerbaijani soldier dead, according to officials in the two countries.

In addition, two Armenian servicemen were wounded in the incident, according to reports. The state-run Armenpress news agency has said that “their lives are not in danger.”

According to the Armenian Defense Ministry, Azerbaijani forces on Tuesday afternoon opened fire, “using artillery and drones,” near the village of Verin Shorzha in Armenia’s eastern Gegharkunik region.

In further statements, the ministry said that the shoot-out was “suppressed due to retaliatory actions of the Armenian side” and stated that, as of Tuesday evening, the area was “relatively stable” and “under full control of the Armenian armed forces.”

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said that one Azerbaijani soldier had been killed “as a result of provocation committed by the armed forces of Armenia in the direction of the Kelbajar district,” a mountainous area under Azerbaijan’s control that borders parts of Armenia’s Gegharkunik and Vayots Dzor regions.

“We strongly condemn the continuation of military provocations by the Armenian side,” the ministry added, blaming Armenian forces for “the aggravation of the situation in the region.”

Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry also said that “the Armenian military-political leadership bears full responsibility” for the incident.

In turn, Armenia’s Foreign Ministry “strongly condemned today’s gross violation of the ceasefire regime by Azerbaijani forces” and called the clashes “another manifestation of the continuous encroachments of Azerbaijan on the territorial integrity of Armenia, which have started since May 12, 2021.”

That date refers to an incident when Azerbaijani forces crossed several kilometers deep into Armenian territory near Sev Lake in Armenia’s southern Syunik region. Azerbaijani soldiers have reportedly remained there since, occupying roughly 40 square kilometers of territory.

“We call on the Azerbaijani authorities to refrain from provocative actions and implement their commitment on establishing stability in the region,” the ministry’s statement continued.

Tuesday’s incident is the latest in a string of clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in and around Karabakh and along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, which officially remains undelimited and undemarcated. Violence between the two sides has flared up periodically since a Russia-brokered ceasefire came into effect in November 2020.

That agreement ended 44 days of fierce fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani armed forces in and around Karabakh. The war left Azerbaijan in control of swaths of territory previously controlled by Armenian forces, with thousands dead or injured on both sides and tens of thousands more displaced. Russian peacekeepers were also deployed to the region as part of the deal.

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Armenia Denies Reports That Armenian Soldiers Crossed Into Azerbaijan

By Emilio Luciano Cricchio

The Armenian Defense Ministry has denied reports that Armenian servicemen crossed the Armenia-Azerbaijan state border into Azerbaijan’s Kalbajar region.

"On the evening of June 1, 40 Armenian servicemen crossed the border into Azerbaijan, after which the Azerbaijani forces forced them to return to their original positions,” an Azerbaijani Defense Ministry’s statement read.

According to the Armenian side, Azerbaijan’s military and political leadership is circulating this misinformation to create an impression abroad that the 2021 Armenia-Azerbaijan border crisis is being further aggravated by the Armenian Armed Forces. Furthermore, the Armenian Defense Ministry stated that Azerbaijan is attempting to counterbalance the situation after Azerbaijan committed incursions into Armenian territory on May 12.

"The Ministry of Defense of Armenia declares that the Armed Forces of Armenia did not cross the border of Azerbaijan either on June 1 or in the days preceding it,” the Armenian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

In the same statement, the Armenian side noted that Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry had made claims that Armenian forces opened fire on the state border and later that Armenian and Nagorno-Karabakh forces fired upon Azerbaijani positions near to the city of Shushi.

These reports were denied by both the Armenian Defense Ministry and the Central Command of the Russian peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh.

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On May 12, Azerbaijani forces crossed the Armenia-Azerbaijan state border in the Lake Sev area of the region of Syunik. Later, another incursion took place in the Verin Shorzha area of Gegharkunik, where an Armenian serviceman was killed.

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#reportsinenglish #armeniansoldiers #incursion #kelbajar

Azerbaijan captures six Armenian soldiers carrying out engineering work near border #Azerbaijan #Armenia #Russia #NagornoKarabakh #Kelbajar #CentralAsia https://www.thepigeonexpress.com/azerbaijan-captures-six-armenian-soldiers-carrying-out-engineering-work-near-border/