Armenia says 49 soldiers killed in Azerbaijan border clashes

By Emre Gurkan Abay

YEREVAN, Armenia (AA) – Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Tuesday said 49 Armenian soldiers have been killed in the latest border flare-up with Azerbaijan.

These numbers from the Defense Ministry are “not the final figure,” he told lawmakers in parliament, adding that updates will be shared later.

Pashinyan said the intensity of fighting had subsided by Tuesday morning and Armenian authorities are assessing the situation.

The premier said Armenia’s Security Council convened late last night and held consultations until the morning.

Pashinyan also spoke to Iran’s President Ibrahim Raisi about the developing border situation, according to a government statement.

Azerbaijan has accused the Armenia of “large-scale provocations,” saying “sabotage groups” planted mines and Armenian forces carried out “intensive” firing on Azerbaijani positions.

These actions by Armenian forces led to the confrontation, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said, adding that there were casualties on both sides.

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 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and over 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia, and the fighting ended with a deal brokered by Russia.

* Writing by Gozde Bayar