Armenia has announced the death of two of its soldiers in clashes that took place on Monday with Azerbaijani forces along the border between the two countries, marking the latest military confrontation between the rival neighbors since the war they fought last year over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. The six-week war that occurred last autumn resulted in around 6,500 deaths and concluded in November with a ceasefire mediated by Russia, under which Armenia relinquished territory in the region that it had controlled for decades.
In recent months, both Azerbaijan and Armenia have reported sporadic border shooting incidents, developments that repeatedly raise concerns over the resurgence of conflict. On Monday, the Armenian defense ministry stated in a communiqué that at 09:50 (05:50 GMT), Azerbaijani forces in Nakhchivan, the Azerbaijani exclave located in southwest Armenia, opened fire towards Armenian troops, leading to an Armenian soldier being shot in the abdomen, who subsequently died while being transported to the hospital.
The statement added that Azerbaijan "attempted another provocation" on Monday evening when they opened fire, killing a second Armenian soldier. The ministry's statement noted that "this was the second Armenian soldier to die that day," adding that the Azerbaijani side also incurred losses. Conversely, the Azerbaijani defense ministry accused the Armenian side of initiating the gunfire, denying any injuries among its personnel.
Tensions between Baku and Yerevan have escalated since May when Armenia accused the Azerbaijani army of crossing its southern border to impose a "blockade" on a shared lake between the two countries. The international community considers the predominantly Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh region to be part of Azerbaijan. Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the conflict that ensued claimed around 30,000 lives.
Following last autumn's war, Russia, which maintains a military base in Armenia, deployed about 2,000 peacekeeping troops to the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its surroundings to oversee the implementation of the ceasefire achieved through its mediation. Russia has also offered to assist in resolving border disputes by working with both sides to precisely define the borders.
