Armenian troops kill Azeri officer near disputed Karabakh region

Armenian troops kill Azeri officer near disputed Karabakh region
AFP: 11/8/2004

Agence France Presse
Nov 8 2004

BAKU (AFP) – Armenian troops shot dead an Azeri army officer along the
tense border that separates the two warring former Soviet republics,
Azerbaijan’s defense ministry revealed.

Bahaddin Abdiyev, a 24-year-old lieutenant, was killed on Sunday
evening during an exchange of fire with Armenian troops in the Agdam
region of southern Azerbaijan, a spokesman told AFP.

Armenian and Azeri forces have been locked in a tense stand-off
since fighting a war in the early 1990s over the disputed territory
of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is now under Armenian control.

The two sides are observing a ceasefire but crossborder shootouts
are a frequent occurrence.

The latest violence brings the Azeri death toll to close to a dozen
soldiers since the start of the year.