Yerevan reported that the Azerbaijanis opened fire on Thursday, wounding three people; Baku confirmed the clash in the Zod area but accused the Armenian forces of firing mortars at Azerbaijani army positions.

The Armenian side also accused Baku’s troops of firing at an ambulance that moved a wounded man, but Azerbaijan denied this.

The Governments of both countries assured that their respective defense ministries are taking appropriate steps to follow-up on the border incident.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been in dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-populated area on Azerbaijani territory, from the moment that region decided to be separated from the then-Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic in 1988.

jrr/iff/jf/gfa