Military In Nagorno-Karabakh Says Soldier Killed By Azerbaijani Sniper

Ethnic Armenian military authorities in Azerbaijan's breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region say one of their soldiers has been killed by an Azerbaijani sniper near the line of contact that separates the combatant sides.

Authorities said the 19-year-old soldier, Vache Chilingarian, was shot dead on January 7.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in a conflict over Azerbaijan’s breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh for years.

Nagorno-Karabakh, populated mainly by ethnic Armenians, declared independence from Azerbaijan during a 1988-94 war that claimed an estimated 30,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

Three decades of diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the conflict have brought little progress.