Azernews.Az

An Azerbaijani rural resident who went missing on the contact line with Armenian troops has been taken hostage, according to the Azerbaijan State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons.
Eldar Taghiyev, a 47-year-old resident of the western Tovuz district’s Alibayli village, came under Armenian shooting on December 28 after accidentally approaching the line of fire, officials said. It was not immediately clear whether or not Taghiyev had been killed or captured by the Armenian servicemen.
The Azerbaijani state commission is working jointly with international organizations to free and repatriate Taghiyev.
According to the commission, over 4,100 Azerbaijanis have been captured or taken hostage and went missing in the aftermath of the conflict with Armenia over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh. 3,364 of them are military men and 795 are civilians. 47 of the civilians are underage persons.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus republics reared up in the late 1980s due to Armenia's territorial claims. Armenia has been occupying over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally-recognized territory since the early 1990s in defiance of international law. The ceasefire accord was signed in 1994, but peace talks have been largely fruitless so far. Sporadic clashes on the frontline continue.*