Azerbaijani soldier killed in Karabakh

An Azerbaijani soldier has been killed in a confrontation with Armenian forces in the border area of Karabakh, the Azerbaijani military has said.

It is understood that the soldier, 19 year-old Telman Mustafayev, was part of a unit patrolling the border when they were fired upon. Azerbaijani sources claim the Armenian army were responsible.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a disputed territory which lies on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. A large portion of the areas is controlled by the NKAD rebel group who want to see an independent Karabakh state. Since a 1994 peace treaty the area has largely remained de-facto independent with little interference from Armenian or Azerbaijan. Howeverm in June of this year four Armenian troops were killed in skirmishes with Azerbaijani forces who were attempting to retake parts of the enclave. The NKAD rebel group remains overwhelmingly pro-Armenian.

In the 1988 - 1992 Nagorno-Karabakh war up to 35,000 people were killed before a Russian brokered peace deal saw the enclave gain de-facto independence.