Five Armenian soldiers were killed in fighting with Azerbaijani forces Thursday near the disputeds and Karabakh's defence ministry denied any of its soldiers had been killed. The Azeri Press Agency and Trend news agency quoted local correspondents as saying that five Armenian soldiers had been killed and three injured during an exchange of fire in the Aghdam district near Karabakh.
The ANS Press agency said four Armenian soldiers had been killed.A spokesman for Azerbaijan's defence ministry told AFP he had no information on the reports. Karabakh defence ministry spokesman Senor Hasratian said that Azerbaijani forces had fired on Armenian positions overnight but that there had been no casualties. "This is complete disinformation from the Azerbaijanis," he told AFP.
Armenian forces seized control of Nagorny Karabakh and seven surrounding regions from Azerbaijan in the early 1990s, in a war that claimed an estimated 30,000 lives. The two countries have cut direct economic and transport links and failed to negotiate a settlement on the region's status.