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(Reuters) – More than two hundred military personnel were killed in border clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan this week, new figures from both countries showed on Friday.
Armenia and Azerbaijan blame others for fighting in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region: the deadliest clashes between them since a six-week war in 2020 have left thousands dead.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said 135 Armenian staff members were killed, news firm Interfax reported a consultation of the Armenian parliament, up from 105 this week.
Azerbaijan said 77 of them had died, up from 71 on Thursday. Both countries said the numbers would likely increase.
The two sides fought for decades over Nagorno-Karabakh, around the world identified as part of Azerbaijan but, until a war in 2020, populated and controlled by ethnic Armenians.
Armenia says Azerbaijani forces this week attacked and seized Armenia’s internal settlements beyond Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan says they responded to the “provocations” of the Armenian side.
A ceasefire, brokered through Moscow, ended the fighting that was won on Wednesday night, but the scenario on the border remains tense, Pashinyan said Friday.
Russia, an army best friend of Armenia that also aspires to be friendly with Azerbaijan, said it would pressure both countries to get their forces back to where they were before this week’s clash erupted.
(Edited via Andrew Cawthorne and Andrew Heavens)