100 soldiers killed in Armenian-Azerbaijan clashes

Armenia and Azerbaijan have announced that nearly 100 soldiers have been killed in the recent fighting since the 2020 war over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Armenia said at least 49 of its soldiers were killed; Azerbaijan said it lost 50.

The fighting erupted minutes after midnight with Azerbaijani forces unleashing an artillery barrage and drone attacks in many sections of Armenian territory, according to Armenia’s Defense Ministry.

It said shelling grew less intense during the day but Azerbaijani troops were trying to advance into Armenian territory.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said it was responding to a “large-scale provocation” by Armenia late Monday and early Tuesday.

It said Armenian troops planted mines and fired on Azerbaijani military positions.

The two countries have been locked in a decades-old conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, which is part of Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994.

E.M