Armenia and Azerbaijan fight for disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region

Fierce fighting continues following the outbreak of a decades-long conflict in the Caucasus region of southeastern Europe.

Dozens of deaths have been reported in battles between forces fighting for Armenia and Azerbaijan.

At the center of the conflict is a dispute for control of the mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh region.

It is recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but has been controlled by ethnic Armenians since the war ended in 1994.

Tens of thousands of people died during the war and a million more were forced from their homes.

Other countries are concerned that the latest fighting could spread outside the region and draw neighboring powers, including Turkey, Russia and Iran.

The Nagorno-Karabakh authorities, backed by Armenia, said 31 of their soldiers had been killed and some lost positions had been recovered.

Azerbaijan said its forces had inflicted “heavy losses” and that the Armenian bombings had wounded 26 civilians.

Both sides said they had mobilized more soldiers and declared martial law in some areas.

The fighting is the most intense in the conflict since 2016, when at least 200 people died in clashes.

Turkey has already declared its support for Azerbaijan, while Russia, which has military bases in Armenia but is also friends with Azerbaijan, called for an immediate ceasefire.

Armenia has accused Turkey of providing direct military support to Azerbaijan, a claim denied by Azerbaijan.

On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Armenia must immediately end its “occupation” of the region, which he said would end the long-running crisis.

In an interview with the BBC, Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan accused Azerbaijan of sabotaging a peaceful solution to the conflict and insisted that Armenia must defend the region.

On Monday, the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities said that another 15 of their soldiers had been killed. They had reported 16 deaths among the military on Sunday.

More than 100 people have been injured.

The self-proclaimed republic said its forces had destroyed four Azeri helicopters, 36 tanks and armored personnel carriers, according to the Armenpress news agency.

He also said that he had killed many Azerbaijani troops.

Armenian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said “fighting of varying intensity is taking place,” adding that “defense army units” were carrying out “counter-actions” in various areas.

Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said the country’s forces continued “the counterattack”, moving from “advantageous positions liberated from the Armenian armed forces.”

He said that “the enemy suffered great losses.”

Azerbaijan previously confirmed the loss of a helicopter, but said the crew had survived and reported that 12 Armenian air defense systems had been destroyed. He denied other losses.

Azerbaijan said on Monday that 26 civilians were injured in the Armenian bombings, accusing Armenia of targeting densely populated areas.

Azerbaijan said that five members of the same family had been killed by the Armenian bombings on Sunday.

Allegations of victims made by Armenia and Azerbaijan have not been independently verified.

In 1988, towards the end of the Soviet rule, Azerbaijani troops and Armenian secessionists started a bloody war that left Nagorno-Karabakh in the hands of ethnic Armenians when a truce was signed in 1994.

Tens of thousands were killed in the fighting and many ethnic Azerbaijanis were forced to flee their homes.

It is now a de facto independent region, largely dependent on the support of Armenia. But it is not recognized by any member of the UN, including Armenia.

Swathes of Azeri territory around the enclave are also under Armenian control.

So far, the negotiations have failed to produce a permanent peace agreement, and the dispute in the region remains one of the “frozen conflicts” in post-Soviet Europe.

Karabakh is the Russian translation of an Azeri word meaning “black garden”, while Nagorno is a Russian word meaning “mountainous”. Ethnic Armenians prefer to call the region Artsakh, an ancient Armenian name for the area.

Over the years, both sides have had soldiers killed in sporadic ceasefire violations. Landlocked Armenia has suffered serious economic problems due to the closure of the borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Russia, France and the United States co-chair the Organization for Security and Cooperation in the Minsk Group of Europe, which has been trying to negotiate an end to the dispute.