After a rapid escalation in hostilities that caused Russia and the United States to plead for calm, Armenia said on Tuesday that at least 49 of its soldiers had been killed in skirmishes along the border with Azerbaijan.
Fears that, in addition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a second full-fledged war could break out in the post-Soviet world have grown as a result of the exacerbation of long-standing hostilities between the south Caucasus countries.
In the early morning hours of Tuesday, Armenia said that multiple border towns, including Jermuk, Goris, and Kapan, were being shelled and that it had replied to what it called a “large-scale provocation” by Azerbaijan.
According to Baku, Armenia assaulted it. Nikol Pashinyan, the prime minister of Armenia, claimed that Azerbaijan had attacked Armenian villages because it refused to negotiate the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, an area that is part of his country but is primarily populated by Armenians.
In a speech to the legislature, Pashinyan stated, “The intensity of hostilities has diminished but attacks on one or two fronts from Azerbaijan continue.”
According to Azerbaijan, Armenia attacked its military installations while conducting intelligence operations along the border and transporting weaponry.
