71 Azerbaijani soldiers killed in 'provocations' by Armenia

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) - Seventy-one Azerbaijani soldiers have been killed in recent days in "provocations" by Armenia, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said Thursday.

The ministry said that so far, 71 Azerbaijani soldiers have died during the recent flare-up, while Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced on Wednesday that 105 Armenian soldiers were killed in the clashes.

Following the recent flare-up in the region, Türkiye reiterated its support to Azerbaijan.

On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara sees the latest border tension as the result of Armenia's violation of the November 2020 deal ending the Karabakh war that resulted in the victory of Azerbaijan, adding that he finds it "unacceptable."

Azerbaijan has accused Armenia of "large-scale provocations" in recent days, saying saboteurs planted mines and Armenian forces carried out “intensive” firing on Azerbaijani positions.

Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

In fall 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and over 300 settlements and villages that were under Armenian occupation. The fighting ended with a deal brokered by Russia.