Azernews.Az

BAKU – An Armenian soldier was killed in a shooting on the "contact line" of the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops on Thursday, Armenia Today reported quoting "the defense ministry" of the self-proclaimed republic operating in Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The Armenian side claimed that Azerbaijani armed forces had violated the ceasefire that is in force between the two countries and sustained many more casualties.

Azerbaijani Defense Ministry deputy spokesman Teymur Abdullayev said that it was the Armenian troops that breached the ceasefire, wounding an Azerbaijani officer, and the shooting ceased after retaliation.

"In addition to that there were no casualties or wounded servicemen on the Azerbaijani side. The Armenians are spreading such false reports to cover up the formidable retaliation [from Azerbaijani troops]," Abdullayev said.

According to him, 24-year-old officer Shamil Sadygov was wounded in both thighs, and his condition is stable.

The shooting took place near a village of Azerbaijan’s frontline Terter district.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in conflict for two decades. Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory since a war in the early 1990s. The ceasefire accord has been in place since 1994, but years of OSCE-brokered peace talks have been largely fruitless, and sporadic clashes on the frontline continue.