Azerbaijan: Border guard kills three comrades

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A border guard in Nagorno-Karabakh (symbolic picture)

Photo: Halil Sagirkaya / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

In the authoritarian-led South Caucasus Republic of Azerbaijan, a border guard shot three soldiers with a service weapon, according to the authorities.

The non-commissioned officer opened fire on his comrades at the Qubadli border post on Sunday evening for unknown reasons, said the border guard in the Azerbaijani capital Baku.

The soldier dropped the weapon and fled;

he was wanted, it was said.

The place in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict region has only been under Azerbaijani control again since autumn 2020.

Border protection officials and the public prosecutor's office investigated the background to the incident, the statement said.

The Nagorno-Karabakh region has been contested between Azerbaijan and Armenia for decades.

In a war in November 2020 that killed thousands of people, Azerbaijan retook large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh.

A ceasefire between Azerbaijanis and Armenians is monitored by 2,000 Russian peacekeepers.

In November 2021, the fighting between the two sides last flared up again for a short time.

Fighting resulted in eight deaths on both sides.

Russia then brokered a ceasefire again.

mfh / dpa