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WORLD NEWSTuesday 5 April 2016
Azerbaijan says 3 killed in fighting with separatist region
AVET DEMOURIAN In this grab taken from Associated Press Television footage made available on Monday, April 4, Anxiety over the new out-
Associated Press 2016, Armenian soldiers pass a Grad missile launcher on Sunday, April 3, 2016, in the village of burst of fighting was high
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) Mardakert, in the separatist region forces of Nagorno-Karabakh. in diplomatic circles. Rus-
— Fighting raged Mon- sian Foreign Minister Sergey
day around Nagorno- (Associated Press Television via AP) Lavrov and U.S. Secretary
Karabakh, with Azerbaijan of State John Kerry spoke
saying it lost three of its more than 300 Azerbaijani gorno-Karabakh under the International efforts to set- on the phone Monday and
troops in the separatist re- soldiers had been killed control of local ethnic Ar- tle the conflict, fueled by called for both sides to stop
gion while inflicting heavy since the conflict flared up menian forces and the Ar- long-simmering tensions fighting, a Russian foreign
casualties on Armenian on Saturday. menian military. Armenian between Christian Arme- ministry statement said.
forces and the Armenian The outbreak of hostilities is forces also occupy several nians and mostly Muslim They also condemned
president warning that the the worst since a war that areas outside Karabakh Azeris, have brought no re- “outside players” for try-
hostilities could slide into a ended in 1994, leaving Na- proper. sults. ing to heat up the conflict,
full-scale war. the statement said without
The Azerbaijani Defense specifying.
Ministry said Armenian The Karabakh military said
forces continued shelling Monday 20 of its service-
Azerbaijani military posi- men have been killed since
tions and front-line villages Saturday, another 72 have
despite a cease-fire that been wounded and seven
Azerbaijan unilaterally de- of its tanks have been de-
clared Sunday. stroyed. The Armenian de-
The ministry said that up to fense ministry later report-
170 Armenian troops were ed that five “volunteers”
“neutralized” and 12 Ar- had been killed by an
menian armored vehicles Azerbaijani drone strike on
have been destroyed Mon- a bus. None of the claims
day. Armenian Defense could be independently
Ministry spokesman Artsrun verified.
Ovannisian dismissed the Ovannisian, the Armenian
claim as a product of the Defense Ministry spokes-
Azerbaijani military’s “wild man, said Monday that
imagination.” Karabakh militia advanced
The Nagorno-Karabakh overnight, “liberating new
military in turn claimed that positions.” He also claimed
that Armenian artillery hit
Indian Kashmir gets first woman chief minister Azerbaijani units as they
were moving to the front
AIJAZ HUSSAIN lock over forming the state Minister Narendra Modi last claimed by India’s archen- line. Self-proclaimed offi-
Associated Press government. month but details of her emy, Pakistan. cials in Karabakh said fight-
SRINAGAR, India (AP) — The chief minister’s post agreement with the BJP re- The PDP emerged as the ing intensified in the morn-
The leader of a pro-India had fallen vacant after main unclear. single-largest party with ing in the southeast and
party on Monday became Mufti’s father and PDP The Peoples’ Democratic 28 seats in the region’s northeast with the Azerbai-
the first woman to become founder Mufti Mohammed Party’s coalition govern- 87-strong state legislature, jani troops using Grad mul-
the chief minister of Indian- Sayeed died in January. ment with the BJP came while the BJP won 25 seats tiple rocket launchers.
controlled Kashmir follow- Since then, Mufti was reluc- about after prolonged ne- — all in Hindu-dominated Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minis-
ing the death of her father, tant to continue her party’s gotiations, as no single par- districts. try blamed Armenian forc-
the region’s top elected coalition with the Hindu ty won a majority needed The two parties hold dia- es for shelling residential
leader. nationalist BJP without an to form a government in metrically opposite views areas despite a unilateral
Mehbooba Mufti took the assurance from its leaders the state during elections in on several issues, such as cease-fire announced by
oath of office after her that they would take “con- 2014. a law that protects Indian Baku, warning that “Arme-
Peoples’ Democratic Party fidence building” steps to The alliance marked the first military personnel from nia will bear the blame for
and India’s ruling Bharati- improve the restive Hima- time the rightwing BJP held criminal prosecution in the possible counterattacks
ya Janata Party ended a layan region. Mufti held a a leadership position in the violence-wracked Himala- and retaliatory measures
nearly three-month dead- meeting with India’s Prime Muslim-majority region also yan region. by Azerbaijan’s armed
forces.”
