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Summary: In the latest outbreak of violence near the Armenian-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region, a 10-year-old boy has been killed after an Armenian sniper opened fire.
[10 March 2011] - A 10-year old Azerbaijani boy has been shot dead by an Armenian sniper in another outbreak of violence near the Nagorno-Karabakh region, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said Wednesday. The boy, Fariz Arifoğlu Badalov, was wounded in the head "when a sniper opened fire on Tuesday from the Armenian-occupied territory" and died on the way to hospital, ministry spokesman Eldar Sabiroğlu told Agence France-Presse. Badalov was playing outside his house on Tuesday in the village of Orta Garvand in Azerbaijan's Agdam District when he was shot, the News.az agency reported. Three days before the incident, on March 5, the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents met in Sochi under the mediation of the Russian president to discuss a settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. A flashpoint of the Caucasus, the region known as Nagorno-Karabakh is a constituent part of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia since the end of 1994. While internationally recognised as Azerbaijani territory, the enclave has declared itself an independent republic but is administered as a de facto part of Armenia. Years of negotiations involving Russia, the United States and Europe, as well as Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders themselves, have failed to resolve the enclave’s status or enable the return of refugees. Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in support of its close ally Azerbaijan in the conflict. "Armenian forces violated the cease-fire,” Sabiroğlu said in a statement. However, Karabakh's de facto authorities denied the report. "This is yet another [piece of] disinformation and immoral propaganda by Azerbaijan," Senor Hasratian, a spokesman for the de facto Karabakh army, told AFP. "Karabakh is committed to a cease-fire," he said. It was the fifth reported death so far this year, with both sides accusing the other of regularly breaching a cease-fire that was put in place following the end of the Karabakh War in 1994. Sniper fire is a frequent occurrence along the contact line separating Azerbaijani and Armenian troops. The Economist reports that, in total, 3,000 people have been killed in skirmishes along the boundary line since the May 1994 cease-fire took effect. International mediators have raised concern about increasing violence over the region. Azerbaijan has threatened to use force if peace talks do not yield satisfactory results, while Armenia has warned of large-scale retaliation if Baku launches any military action. Further Information:
pdf: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=azerbaijani-child-killed-near-k...