The Defense Ministry of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic reported Saturday, Jan 3 that two Karabakh Armed Forces soldiers were killed while attempting to repel an attack from Azerbaijani forces, Asbarez said.

The Ministry reported that the incidents took place on the southern and eastern directions of the Karabakh-Azerbaijan border, as Azerbaijanis attempted to violate the Line of Contact at around 3:15 a.m. local time.

Artsakh soldiers Karen Grigoryan and Vardan Mkrtchyan were killed, while the Azerbaijani side suffered losses and retreated to their positions.

“We strongly condemn the subversive actions carried out by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces during the night of of January 2– 3 on the Line of Contact with the Artsakh Defence Army which has resulted in casualties. We express our deepest condolences to the families and relatives of the killed soldiers,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Saturday.

“With this another provocation Baku continues to implement the continuous threats of the Azerbaijani authorities on the use of force which are being stated even in New Year messages by the leadership of that country,” added the statement.

“This is a flagrant contempt towards the appeals of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Countries to refrain from provocative actions and escalation of the situation, especially on the eve of and during religious holidays. It is long overdue for the international community to sober the Azerbaijani authorities acting against its calls,” concluded the foreign ministry statement.