New deadly clashes on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan – franceinfo

This is a war far from over. Armenia and Azerbaijan on Tuesday (September 13th) reported large-scale border clashes that left dozens of Azerbaijani troops dead. Frequent shootings have been reported along the border between the two feuding countries since the end of the 2020 war in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. “On Tuesday at 00:05 (local time), Azerbaijan launched an intensive shelling, with artillery and large-caliber firearms, against Armenian military positions in the direction of the cities of Goris, Sotk and Jermuk”, the Armenian Defense Ministry said. He said in a statement that Azerbaijan also used drones. At least 49 Armenian servicemen were killed. For its part, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry accused Armenia of “large-scale subversive acts” near the border districts of Dashkesan, Kelbajar and Lachin, adding that its army positions “came under fire, especially trench mortars”. He also recognized “losses among the military”, without giving figures. The United States, which said it was “extremely concerned”, called for an immediate cessation of fighting. The two neighboring countries fought two wars – in the 1990s and in 2020 – in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, an Azerbaijani enclave populated by Armenians. A little later in the morning, Russia announced that it had negotiated a ceasefire, in effect since Tuesday morning according to Moscow, to put an end to these clashes. “We hope that the agreement reached following Russian mediation on a ceasefire from 9 a.m. Moscow time (8 a.m. Paris time) will be respected in full,” said in a statement. communicated the Russian diplomacy. Moscow says it is “extremely concerned about the sharp deterioration in the situation”. “We call on the parties to refrain from any further escalation, to exercise restraint,” urged the Russian Foreign Ministry in a statement.