Heavy fighting has broken out between Armenia and Azerbaijan. There is danger fighting could lead to bigger conflict between two countries. Their trouble is over region that is on their border called Nagorno-Karabakh. This is disputed territory. It is internationally recognized as being part of Azerbaijan but it has majority Armenian ethnic population. It has governed itself for past few decades. recent clashes resulted in deaths of both civilians and soldiers. Armenia blamed Azerbaijan for starting recent conflict. It said Azerbaijan launched missiles into region. Azerbaijan's defence ministry said it launched missiles to "ensure the safety of population" in the region.
There have been tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan since end of the Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1994. There have been many flashpoints between two countries. The current clashes have seen worst fighting in many years. An Al Jazeera journalist who is expert on Nagorno-Karabakh described the situation as, " very serious escalation". Neighboring countries are now getting involved. Turkey's President said his country would support Azerbaijan. Russia has given its backing to Armenia, but called for immediate ceasefire and urgent negotiations. Iran, which shares border with both Azerbaijan and Armenia, has offered to arrange peace talks.
