Armenia said one of its soldiers died in clashes with troops from neighbouring Azerbaijan late on Friday, as a territorial dispute ground on between the former Soviet republics. Azerbaijan did not comment on the report of the violence - but dismissed Armenian allegations that it had started any fighting or lost a significant number of its own men.
Sporadic clashes between the two have thwarted international efforts to end the dispute that broke out in the dying years of the Soviet Union and has killed about 30,000 people. "The Azeri side has again provoked tension at the border," Armenia's defence ministry spokesman, Artsrun Hovhannisyan, said in a statement posted on Facebook. "Information ... that Azeri side has allegedly violated a ceasefire agreement and there have been losses among Azeri servicemen is disinformation," an Azeri defence ministry spokesman said. "This step is an attempt to drag public's attention in Armenia from social problems," he added.