Azerbaijani and ethnic Armenian troops clashed on Sunday in Nagorno-Karabakh, resulting in the deaths of at least five people. The disputed Karabakh region has been the site of two previous wars between Azerbaijan and Armenia since their independence from the Soviet Union more than 30 years ago. The Azerbaijan defence ministry reported that two soldiers were killed after their troops stopped a suspected weapons convoy travelling on an unauthorized road from the main town to outlying areas. The Armenian foreign ministry claimed that three officials from the Karabakh interior ministry were killed and dismissed Azerbaijan's allegations of weapons being carried as "absurd". Nagorno-Karabakh has been internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, despite its population being primarily composed of ethnic Armenians.
In the early 1990s, Armenian forces took control of Karabakh during the collapse of Soviet rule. Azerbaijan recaptured significant territory in a six-week conflict in 2020, resulting in a truce and the deployment of Russian peacekeepers. Despite efforts by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to resolve the conflict, sporadic violence has disrupted peace talks. Azeri environmentalists have also been blockading the Lachin corridor linking Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh for the past three months, opposing mining operations in the region. Armenia claims the protesters are political activists acting under Azerbaijan's authorities. Last month, the World Court ordered Azerbaijan to ensure free movement through the Lachin corridor.
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