Azerbaijan: Armenian forces killed, injured soldiers in border attack

Seven Azerbaijani troops have been killed in border clashes with Armenia near the Karabakh region.

"Seven servicemen died and 10 more were wounded in the clashes provoked Tuesday by Armenia," Azerbaijan's defence ministry said on Wednesday, adding that the situation at the border "stabilised on Tuesday evening."

On Tuesday, the ministry said that the Armenian forces carried out “large-scale provocations” against the combat posts of the Azerbaijani army in the Kalbajar and Lachin regions of the state border.

Armenia's defence ministry said one Armenian soldier was killed, 13 were captured by Azerbaijani forces and 24 more servicemen were missing.

It said "the situation at the border's eastern sector was relatively calm and a ceasefire agreement was being respected" on Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday, Armenian and Azerbaijani forces engaged in their worst clashes since going to war last year over the Armenian-occupied Karabakh region.

The clashes along the Caucasus neighbours' shared border sparked fears of another flare-up in their territorial dispute.

READ MORE: Azerbaijan accuses Armenia of opening fire unprovoked on army

Baku said on Tuesday Armenia was responsible for a "large-scale military provocation."

Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accused Azerbaijan of "targeting Armenia's statehood, sovereignty, and independence."

A ceasefire was reached Tuesday evening following mediation by Russia's Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu.

READ MORE: Azerbaijan, Armenia hold talks after spike in border tensions

The European Union, France, the United Nations, and the United States have called on both sides to de-escalate tensions.

During the major six-week war last year, Azerbaijan retook several cities and 300 settlements and villages. The conflict, which left more than 6,500 dead, ended in November 2020 in a Russian-brokered deal that saw Armenia cede swathes of territory it had occupied for decades.