An Azerbaijani soldier was killed in fighting with Armenian forces near the disputed Nagnorno-Karabakh region, Azerbaijan’s ANS television reported on Sunday.
The soldier, Vusal Salakhly, was shot in the head when after Armenian forces opened fire on his post in the village of Tagibeili in the Agdam district of Azerbaijan late Saturday evening, ANS said. The Azerbaijani defense ministry could not be reached for comment.
Tension over Nagorny Karabakh has heightened in recent months amid efforts by Armenia and Turkey, a close ally of Azerbaijan, to establish diplomatic ties and reopen their border after decades of hostility. Backed by Yerevan, ethnic Armenian forces seized control of Nagorny 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 now spread across a ceasefire line in and around Nagorny Karabakh, often facing each other at close range, and shootings are common.
Azerbaijan’s defence minister warned last month that the threat of conflict with Armenia was rising fast and that all-out war was inevitable if Armenian forces failed to pull out of the region.
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