Armenian, Azerbaijani forces in deadly clashes

Fierce clashes left at least 30 Azerbaijani and Armenian soldiers dead April 2 in the disputed as Russia and the West urged an immediate ceasefire after a major escalation in violence over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan said 18 Armenian troops were killed and some 35 wounded in the "largest-scale hostilities" since a 1994 truce ended a war that saw Armenian-backed fighters seize the territory from Azerbaijan.  

Earlier in the day, Azerbaijan's defense ministry said that 12 of its soldiers were killed in the clashes and a military helicopter shot down. 

The surge in fighting over the disputed territory reportedly also claimed the lives of one Armenian and one Azeri civilian after the arch foes accused each other of unleashing heavy weaponry across the volatile front line.

Armenia accused Azerbaijan of launching a "massive attack along the Karabakh front line using tanks, artillery, and helicopters" on the night of April 1.

Azerbaijan, however, insisted it had counter-attacked after coming under fire from "large-caliber artillery and grenade-launchers."

Sarkisian said that clashes were continuing on the evening of April 2 "in the north and south" of the front line but insisted the "armed forces of Karabakh are in control of the situation." 

Ethnic Armenians backed by Yerevan seized control of the mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh region, which was part of Azerbaijan during the Soviet period, during a war the early 1990s which claimed the lives of some 30,000 people.

A 1994 ceasefire failed to lead to a peace deal, with clashes erupting regularly and the two countries remaining on a war footing.

The region is still internationally recognized as part of...