The 2010 Nagorno-Karabakh clashes were a series of exchanges of gunfire that took place on February 18 on the line of contact dividing

Azerbaijani Azerbaijani may refer to: * Something of, or related to Azerbaijan * Azerbaijanis * Azerbaijani language See also * Azerbaijan (disambiguation) * Azeri (disambiguation) * Azerbaijani cuisine * Culture of Azerbaijan The culture of Azerbaijan ...

and the Karabakh Armenian military forces. Azerbaijan accused the Armenian forces of firing on the Azerbaijani positions near

Tap Qaraqoyunlu Tap Qaraqoyunlu () is a village and municipality in the Goranboy District of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinen ...

, Qızıloba, Qapanlı, Yusifcanlı and

Cavahirli Cavahirli () is a village in the Agdam District of Azerbaijan. History The village was occupied by Armenian forces during the First Nagorno-Karabakh war and administrated as part of Martakert Province of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh ...

villages, as well as in uplands of Agdam Rayon with small arms fire including snipers. As a result, three Azerbaijani soldiers were killed and one wounded. The engagement became the second deadliest ceasefire violation since 1994, after the

2008 Mardakert clashes The 2008 Mardakert clashes began on March 4 after the 2008 Armenian election protests. It involved the heaviest fighting between ethnic Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh since the 1994 ceasefire after t ...

Incidents

The incidents embraced two regions in Nagorno-Karabakh ( Tartar Rayon, Agdam Rayon) and one region out of it (

Goranboy Rayon Goranboy District ( az, Goranboy rayonu) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the west of the country and belongs to the Ganja-Dashkasan Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Kalbajar, Tartar, Yevlakh, Sa ...

). Azerbaijani sources claim that on 13:00 local time the Karabakh Armenian military fired from Talysh towards the Azerbaijani positions in

. Accordingly, at 15:00 Armenian troops allegedly opened fire from Agdam Rayon, killing one Azeri soldier. After some time the shooting achieved a large-scale character and continued until evening. According to the Azerbaijani side, Karabakh Armenian troops withdrew with losses.

Casualties

Following the incidents the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced the names of those killed: Private Sahil Mammadov (born 10 April 1991, called up by Shaki Commissariat in April, 2009), Corporal Royal Farajov (born 8 March 1991, called up in April, 2009), Private Davud Rustamov (born 22 July 1991, called up in October, 2009). Private Elvin Adigozalov (born 10 December 1990, called up in January, 2009) was wounded. Although the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense estimated Armenian casualties to be "not less than ours", Armenian military spokesman Senor Hasratian denied that the Armenian side had sustained any casualties.

International reaction

* On February 19 Iranian ambassador in Armenia Seyed Ali Saghaeyan said at a press conference in Yerevan: "Iran shares a common border with Karabakh, and therefore we surely have our own considerations and views about the composition of a peacekeeping force that might be deployed in the conflict zone". Saghaeyan, however, did not clarify what he meant by Iran and Karabakh share "a common border."

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nagorno-Karabakh Skirmish 2010 skirmish 2010 in Azerbaijan Conflicts in 2010 Battles involving Azerbaijan 2010 skirmish Skirmish Armenia–Azerbaijan border 2010 in Asia February 2010 events in Asia Combat incidents Military conflicts between Armenia and Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh