BAKU, Nov 16, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - Azerbaijan on Tuesday accused Armenia of a 
large-scale military provocation as tensions mounted between the arch foes a 
year after their war over contested territory.

   The six-week armed conflict for control of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh 
region claimed more than 6,500 lives and ended last November with a Russian-
brokered truce.

   Under the ceasefire agreement, Armenia ceded swathes of territories it had 
controlled for decades.

   On Tuesday, Azerbaijan's defence ministry said "Armenia's armed forces 
committed a large-scale provocation at the state border at 11:00 am (GMT 
0700) on Tuesday."

   "Armenian troops attacked Azerbaijani positions in the districts of 
Kelbajar and Lachin," the ministry said in a statement, adding that two 
Azerbaijani troops were wounded in the clashes.

   Azerbaijani troops "stopped the enemy's advance, surrounded and detained 
Armenian servicemen."

   Armenia's defence ministry, on its part, said Azerbaijani forces 
"attempted to break through the Armenia's state border, at the eastern 
direction" before being repelled by Armenian troops.

   Since last year's war, both Azerbaijan and Armenia have reported 
occasional exchanges of fire along their shared border, sparking fears of 
another flare up in their territorial dispute.

   On Sunday, both countries traded accusations of opening fire at their 
border near Karabakh.

   On Saturday, Nagorno-Karabakh authorities said the only road connecting 
Armenia to the separatist enclave -- the Lachin Corridor -- was briefly 
closed due to an incident between the two sides. 

   Ethnic Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan 
as the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, and the ensuing conflict claimed 
around 30,000 lives.