YEREVAN: Azerbaijani forces shot dead an Armenian soldier in frontline clashes in the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region on Saturday, the breakaway defence ministry said.

“A 20-year-old soldier, Khachatur Badasian, suffered a fatal gunshot wound “after Azerbaijani special forces “attempted an incursion to carry out sabotage and spying” in the early hours of Saturday, the ministry said.

It said that the separatist forces then managed to drive Azerbaijani troops back across the northern and northeastern sections of the volatile frontline.

Armenia’s defence ministry said there had also been clashes along the border in the Karabakh region with Azerbaijani forces shooting at Armenian villages.

There has been an uptick in violence across the border in recent months, with both sides regularly accusing the other of tit-for-tat raids.

At least 21 soldiers have been killed so far this year, as government and rebel snipers periodically exchange fire across the flashpoint frontier.

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.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2014