ARMENIAN, AZERBAIJANI FORCES CONTINUE TO EXCHANGE FIRE, CASUALTY TOLL UNCLEAR

The fighting that began on March 4 between Azerbaijani army troops and Karabakh Armenian forces continued on March 5, and Azerbaijani Defense Minister Colonel General Safar Abiyev said in Baku late that day that the situation "is becoming increasingly tense," day.az reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 5, 2008). Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met on March 5 with top army commanders to assess the situation and gave them "specific orders," kavkaz-uzel.ru reported. The Karabakh authorities handed over to the Azerbaijani side on March 5 the bodies of four Azerbaijani servicemen killed the previous day. In Yerevan, the Armenian Defense Ministry rejected on March 5 as untrue Azerbaijani claims that 12 Armenian soldiers were killed; it said two soldiers from the Karabakh Defense Army were injured, Noyan Tapan reported. The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on March 5, posted on its website (mid.ru), expressing concern lest the outbreak of hostilities spread to other sectors of the Line of Contact and calling on both sides to make every effort to prevent an escalation and to restore the status quo. In Baku, U.S. Ambassador Anne Derse was quoted by day.az on March 6 as saying the U.S. calls on both sides avoid any further violations of the cease-fire. She added that the outbreak of hostilities only serves to underscore the need to resume the talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group on a peaceful solution to the Karabakh conflict. LF

RFE/RL Newsline, Thursday, March 6, 2008 Volume 12 Number 45