Three Armenian soldiers were killed on “the line of contact” around Nagorno-Karabakh on Friday in what the Karabakh Armenian military called a ceasefire violation by Azerbaijan.
Karabakh’s Defense Army said the three conscripts -- Arayik Matinian, Vigen Petrosian and Vartan Sargsian -- died after Azerbaijani forces fired anti-tank grenades at one of its frontline positions east of the disputed territory. “An investigation is underway to clarify details of the incident,” it said in a short statement.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry did not immediately react to the report. The ministry said on Friday morning one of its soldiers was shot dead by the Armenian side. It did not specify where the conscript died.
Azerbaijani media reported later in the day that another Azerbaijani serviceman, a 26-year-old contract soldier, was also killed in action. The Defense Ministry in Baku did not confirm the information.
The combat deaths come just days after the U.S., Russian and French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group visited Armenia and Karabakh for further talks on ways of reviving the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process. They will travel to Baku this weekend or early next week.
In their most recent joint statement released on May 18, the mediators urged the conflicting parties to “take all necessary measures to prevent any further escalation in the conflict zone.”
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