An Armenian soldier was fatally wounded in Nagorno-Karabakh on Wednesday in what the disputed region’s ethnic Armenian military authorities said was a ceasefire violation by Azerbaijani armed forces.
The Karabakh Defense Ministry said the incident happened at the northeastern section of the heavily militarized line of contact at about 5 pm local time. It identified the killed serviceman as 20-year-old Gurgen Ayvazian and said a probe into the incident was ongoing.
The Karabakh military accused Azerbaijani armed forces of continuing to violate the ceasefire regime during Wednesday using also grenade-launchers.
Azerbaijan did not immediately react to the accusations. Its military also routinely accuse ethnic Armenian armed forces of ceasefire violations.
The latest escalation of violence in the Karabakh conflict zone comes one day after a group of international mediators brokering a solution to the protracted dispute completed their three-day regional tour that included stops in Baku, Yerevan and Stepanakert.
In their statement released on Wednesday the American, Russian and French co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Minsk Group said that the purpose of their travel was “to discuss the situation after the unprecedented violence last April, and to clarify positions on the negotiation process.” They cited the sides as confirming that “the situation on the ground remains relatively calm.”
Scores of soldiers as well as civilians on both sides were reportedly killed on April 2-5 when hostilities briefly resumed in Karabakh. International mediators have been working with the parties to the conflict since then to preclude further clashes as well as advance negotiations towards a lasting peace.
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