Armenia Says Soldier Killed in Border Clash with Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani forces killed an Armenian soldier in a fresh border shoot-out between the arch-foes locked in a smoldering conflict over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region, the defense ministry in Yerevan said Friday.

"Private Grisha Khachatrian, 20, died Thursday of mortal wounds" when Azerbaijani troops opened fire on the south-western sector of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, the ministry said in a statement.

The two countries are mired in a festering decades-long conflict over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region with soldiers along the heavily fortified frontier regularly exchanging sniper fire.

There was an uptick in violence towards the start of the year along the front line as the two foes accused each other of staging a series of tit-for-tat raids.

At least 16 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.