Azerbaijani Troops Kill Karabakh Soldier

Azerbaijani forces killed an ethnic Armenian serviceman from the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region's army in the latest outburst of violence between the foes, the separatist region's defense ministry said Monday.

The Karabakh army's "lieutenant colonel Garik Balayan was killed on May 25 (Sunday) on the southern sector of the line of separation between Azerbaijani and Karabakh forces," the Karabakh defense ministry said in a statement.

There has been an increase in violence in recent months along the Azerbaijan-Armenia border and at the Karabakh frontline, with both sides regularly accusing the other of tit-for-tat raids and at least 10 soldiers have been killed.

Last year, around 20 soldiers from both sides were reportedly killed in border shootouts.

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.