ONE ARMENIAN SOLDIER KILLED IN DISPUTED KARABAKH
Press TV
March 2 2010
Iran
At least one Armenian soldier has been killed in a clash between
Azeri and Armenian forces in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
According to Armenia’s Defense Ministry, the 29-year-old Sergeant
Sargis Voskanian was killed amid rising tensions between the two
countries.
Tensions over Karabakh have heightened in recent months amid efforts
by Armenia and Turkey, a close ally of Azerbaijan, to re-establish
diplomatic ties and reopen their common border after decades of
hostility.
There was no immediate comment from Azerbaijani officials.
Backed by Yerevan, ethnic Armenian forces seized control of
Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts from Azerbaijan in
the early 1990s, in a war that claimed an estimated 30,000 lives.
The two former Soviet republics have cut direct economic and transport
links and failed to negotiate a settlement on the region’s status.
Armenian and Azerbaijani forces are spread across a ceasefire line in
and around Nagorno-Karabakh, often facing each other at close range,
with shootings reported as common.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
