An Azerbaijani army serviceman was killed by Armenian sniper fire yesterday, the Defense Ministry said.

Esqin Quliyev was fatally wounded at 18:40 local time along the ceasefire line, the ministry said.

That brought to five the number of confirmed deaths in clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces since tensions escalated on January 20.

The dead included two Azerbaijani and two Armenian servicemen.

Armenians captured nearly 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally-recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts, in a war after the Soviet Union’s breakup in 1991.

About 12,000 Azerbaijani nationals were killed and 1 million displaced before Russia brokered a ceasefire in 1994.

The sides have yet to sign a peace agreement despite more than 20 years of talks mediated by the US, Russia and France.

ANN.Az