(Note: The following article is a corrected version of the June 6 story "Azeris Attack Karabakh Border". It corrects headline from "Azeris Attack Karabakh Border" and changes lead to represnt both sides' views.)
Several soldiers were killed in armed clashes on the Nagorno-Karabakh border on June 6, resulting in the deaths of several soldiers, with both sides accusing the other of starting the incident.
The armed forces of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic claimed an Azerbaijani commando group attempted to penetrate Karabakh Army positions in the early hours of June 6, but were pushed back when Karabakh army units spotted the enemy and engaged it. “The enemy has suffered significant losses as a result,” the Army said in a statement.
One Karabakh soldier was killed and two injured in the clash.
The Azerbaijani tactics “can lead to unpredictable consequences for Azerbaijan,” the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s Army said.
Five Azerbaijani soldiers were killed on June 5 at the contact line between the armed forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan, amid escalating Armenian-Azerbaijani tension, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said.
The servicemen were killed in a skirmish after Armenian troops attempted to enter the Azerbaijani Army’s territory in the village of Ashagy-Askipara, in the Gazakh district in northwestern Azerbaijan, the ministry said.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was on a visit to the North Caucasus states at the time, condemned the ongoing border clashes on June 4, saying that "the use of force will not resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict."
The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan erupted in the late 1980s, when Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway region on Azerbaijani territory with a predominantly ethnic Armenian population, claimed independence from Azerbaijan. The territory is recognized as an independent state only by Armenia.
The war is estimated to have left more than 30,000 people dead on both sides between 1988 and 1994. The region has since remained under Armenian control.
Russia has been mediating peace talks for nearly two decades.
Meanwhile, the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers have agreed to hold talks over Nagorny Karabakh on June 18 in Paris, following a call from the OCSE Minsk Group mediating the conflict.
