Armenian soldier killed in Azerbaijan's rebel region

Azerbaijani troops killed an Armenian soldier in fresh clashes Thursday with fighters from the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, the rebel defense ministry said.

"Pte Mger Akopian, 24, was fatally wounded on September 18 while on duty" on the volatile frontline that divides Azerbaijani and Karabakh forces, the separatist defense ministry said in a statement.

Last month simmering tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh boiled over, killing more than 20 troops - the fiercest clashes since a cease-fire was agreed in 1994.

The August skirmishes sparked fears that one of the bloodiest post-Soviet wars could reignite, although the violence has since subsided.

Azerbaijani and Armeniani troops regularly exchange fire across the flashpoint frontier and both sides repeatedly accuse each other of tit-for-tat raids.

Armenia seized Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan in a 1990s war that killed 30,000 people. Despite years of negotiations since the 1994 cease-fire, the two sides have yet to sign a peace deal.

Bakudaily.Az