WORLD / ASIA-PACIFIC
Armenian soldier killed in shootout with Azerbaijan despite cease-fire
Published: Nov 23, 2021 06:03 PM
Russian servicemen take part in military exercises at the Kapustin Yar range in Astrakhan region, Southern Russia on Friday during the Caucasus-2020 military drills gathering China, Iran, Pakistan and Myanmar troops, along with ex-Soviet Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus. Photo: AFP

Russian servicemen take part in military exercises at the Kapustin Yar range in Astrakhan region, Southern Russia during the "Caucasus-2020" military drills gathering China, Iran, Pakistan and Myanmar troops, along with ex-Soviet Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus. Photo: AFP

Armenia said one of its soldiers was killed in a border shoot-out with Azerbaijan on Monday, the latest incident between the two arch-foes that fought a war over disputed territory in 2020. 

"As a result of the shooting, a 19-year-old conscript soldier was killed after being mortally wounded," Yerevan's defense ministry said in a statement. 

Last week, the two Caucasus countries saw the worst clashes along their shared border since going to war over the contested Nagorno-Karabakh territory in 2020. 

Yerevan said the soldier was killed after Azerbaijani forces had fired "arms of various caliber" at Armenian positions in the Gegharkunin province on the eastern part of the border. 

It said that the border shoot-out took place at 18:10 local time and had ended by 19:30.

Last week, Armenia reported that six of its soldiers were killed in clashes with Azerbaijan, with 13 captured by Baku's forces and 24 servicemen missing. 

Azerbaijan said seven of its troops were killed in the fighting on November 16 and that 10 were wounded. 

A cease-fire was reached last week following mediation by Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. 

2020's six-week conflict, which claimed the lives of more than 6,500 people, ended in November in a Russia-mediated deal that saw Armenia cede swathes of territory it had controlled for decades.

AFP