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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Armenia, Azerbaijani Forces Exchange Fire |
| 2006-03-07 |
| BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) - Azerbaijani and Armenian forces exchanged heavy gunfire and mortars at several points along their border in the most serious fighting in months. Azerbaijan said one of its soldiers was killed and one seriously wounded in the fighting late Monday and early Tuesday. Armenian forces said several of their troops were wounded. The two countries remain at odds over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan. A cease-fire agreement was reached in 1994 after six years of fighting, and the enclave is now under the control of ethnic Armenians, whose troops face Azerbaijani forces across a half-mile-wide no man's land. Sporadic clashes, however, break out along the Nagorno-Karabakh border and land mines continue to kill people every year. The conflict has held up development of the entire Caucasus region. Talks to resolve Nagorno-Karabakh's status broke down last month. Since then, the violence has spiked and the countries' presidents have traded increasingly bellicose statements. |
| Posted by:Steve |