Armenia says 49 soldiers killed in clashes with Azerbaijan
(VOVWORLD) - Armenia said on Tuesday that at least 49 of its soldiers have been killed in clashes along the border with Azerbaijan after a sharp escalation in hostilities which prompted Russia and the US to call for restraint.
 Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addresses parliament following an escalation in hostilities over the Nagorno-Karabakh region along the border of Armenia with Azerbaijan, in Yerevan, Armenia, September 13, 2022. Tigran Mehrabyan/PAN Photo via REUTERS |
The escalation of decades-old hostilities between the south Caucasus countries has fuelled fears that a second fully-fledged war could break out in the post-Soviet world in addition to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Armenia said several towns near the border with Azerbaijan were being shelled in the early hours of Tuesday, and that it had responded to what it called a "large-scale provocation" by Azerbaijan.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accused Azerbaijan of attacking Armenian towns because it did not want to negotiate over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave which is inside Azerbaijan but mainly populated by ethnic Armenians.
Azerbaijan, which accused Armenia of carrying out intelligence activity along the border and moving weapons, said its military positions came under attack by Armenia.