Two Killed in Armenia-Azerbaijan Border Shootout

Two Armenian troops died on Thursday in a fresh clash with Azerbaijani forces on the volatile border between the two countries, Armenia's defense ministry said.

"Sergeant Andranik Egoyan, 26, and private Boris Gasparyan, 22, were mortally wounded by the Azerbaijani forces on the south-western sector of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border," the ministry said in a statement.

The two countries are locked in a decades-long conflict over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region.

There has been an increase in violence in recent months along the border and at the Karabakh frontline, with both sides regularly accusing the other of tit-for-tat raids. 

At least 14 soldiers from both sides have been killed so far this year.

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

Azerbaijan has threatened to take back the disputed region by force if negotiations do not yield results, while Armenia has vowed to retaliate against any military action.