Border Clash Between Armenia and Azerbaijan; Death Toll Rises to 4 Armenian Soldiers

Following reports of sporadic border clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani military forces, the Armenian Ministry of Defense confirmed the incidents in a statement. The clashes occurred at 5:30 AM local time in the border area of the 'Zangilan' route. Reuters reported that two Armenian soldiers were killed in the confrontation with Azerbaijani forces. Shortly thereafter, AFP, citing the Armenian Ministry of Defense, reported that the death toll had risen to four, with one Armenian soldier also injured. Azerbaijan's border service stated in a statement that it conducted a 'retaliatory operation' in response to actions taken by Armenian forces the previous day. The statement indicated that further 'provocations' would be met with 'more serious and decisive actions.' Azerbaijan held the 'military and political leadership of Armenia' fully responsible for the incident. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense announced that Armenian forces fired at Baku's positions along the northwestern border approximately 300 kilometers from 'Nerkin Hand' in the Syunik province on Monday night. The Armenian Ministry of Defense denied such an incident occurred. Baku and Yerevan had agreed in recent months to resolve their disputes and exchange prisoners of war under international supervision after decades of conflict over certain shared territories. The border clash this morning is considered the heaviest and deadliest since Azerbaijan's military operation to reclaim the 'Nagorno-Karabakh' region this summer. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the First Nagorno-Karabakh War (1988-1994) erupted between Armenians and their Azerbaijani neighbors, resulting in approximately thirty thousand deaths and over one million displaced persons. Azerbaijan lost part of its territory, while Armenians maintained control over most of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. In 2020, after decades of conflict, Azerbaijan launched a military operation that led to the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, allowing Baku to quickly breach Armenian defensive positions. Azerbaijan achieved a significant victory in the 44-day war with Turkish support, regaining parts of Nagorno-Karabakh. In December, Armenia and Azerbaijan exchanged several prisoners of war as part of a joint agreement aimed at reaching a sustainable peace treaty, which the European Union welcomed as a 'big step' toward peace in the region. According to another part of this agreement, the self-proclaimed 'Artsakh,' which declared independence over 30 years ago in the autonomous region of Nagorno-Karabakh, will be officially 'dissolved' on January 1, 2024. Aliyev won reelection in Azerbaijan with 92% of the votes.