The fighting is a continuation of last week’s violence in which a total of seven soldiers -- four Azerbaijani and three Armenian -- were killed during border skirmishes on Tuesday and Saturday. Azerbaijan said Armenians attacked its military units from seven different locations on Monday, but the attacks were repelled.
Armenian forces opened fire from their positions in Nagorno-Karabakh and the adjacent regions on Azerbaijani military units in Tovuz, Goranboy, Khojavend, Terter, Fuzuli, Jabrayil and Aghdam on Monday and early Tuesday. The Defense Ministry said no casualties had been reported. The Armenian Defense Ministry did not comment on the border skirmishes until late Wednesday.
Two Azerbaijani soldiers were killed on Saturday in a border skirmish with Armenian forces in the province of Terter. On Tuesday of last week, three Armenian and two Azerbaijani soldiers were killed in an exchange of gunfire along the northern Nagorno-Karabakh frontline.
The co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group -- which is mediating the protracted conflict -- on Monday urged all parties to respect the cease-fire and to exercise restraint on the ground, while making every effort to foster the spirit of compromise necessary for progress. The OSCE further urged the two sides to refrain from making inflammatory public statements and to demonstrate a convincing political will to engage in serious dialogue.
