Armenia’s protection ministry says that one in every of its troopers was killed by an Azerbaijani sniper close to the border
Armenia’s protection ministry mentioned Sunday that one in every of its troopers was killed by an Azerbaijani sniper close to the border, however Azerbaijan denied the declare and individually reported that its troopers had come underneath hearth from Armenia in one other a part of the border space.
Tensions additional rose on Sunday when Azerbaijan introduced it had opened a checkpoint firstly of the highway that leads from Armenia to the ethnic Armenian area of Nagorno-Karabakh that’s inside Azerbaijan. Armenia claimed that such a checkpoint violates the pact that ended fierce combating between the nations in 2020.
Nagorno-Karabakh, which had substantial autonomy underneath the Soviet Union, got here underneath management of ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian navy in 1994 on the finish of years of separatist combating. Armenian forces additionally took sizable territory surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh itself.
Azerbaijan regained many of the surrounding territory and items of Nagorno-Karabakh itself within the six-week 2020 struggle that killed about 6,800 troopers. Below a Russia-brokered armistice, transit alongside the so-called Lachin Hall highway that connects Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia was to proceed underneath the assure of Russian peacekeepers.
However in December, site visitors obstructions started when protesters claiming to be enviromental activists blocked the highway. Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh has suffered meals shortages and sporadic lack of electrical energy and fuel.
A minimum of seven troopers have been killed in clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces earlier in April.
Armenia claimed a sniper killed one in every of its troopers close to the village of Sotk. Azerbaijan denied that and mentioned Armenians opened hearth with small arms on its forces, who returned hearth.
Azerbaijan has repeatedly alleged that Armenians have used the Lachin Hall to deliver weapons and ammunition into Nagorno-Karabakh.