Dozens of soldiers have been killed during fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan that occurred overnight. Armenia’s Prime Minister said that 49 of its soldiers died in the clashes. These neighboring countries have fought two wars and have seen regular clashes over the past 30 years. Russia claims to have brokered a ceasefire for the latest clash, however, Armenia said that the cease-fire calmed fighting rather than ending it. 

The region of Nagorno-Karabakh is at the core of the fighting. The region is firmly inside the Azerbaijan border, however it is populated by ethnic Armenians. The cultural divide is widened also by differences in religion in the two countries. The disputes have caused a full-scale war in the 1980s and 90s, a six-week war in 2020 and continuous clashes. Both countries blame the other for the outbreak of fighting. Violence continued Monday night before Moscow stated it had negotiated a rapid ceasefire to take effect on Tuesday morning. The conflict has been condemned internationally and The countries’ allies have urged the two to focus on peace negotiations and diplomatic solutions.

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