More troops killed as clashes rage in Nagorno-Karabakh

At least 26 more fighters have been killed in clashes with Azerbaijani troops in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, according to its defence ministry, bringing their military death toll to 84 in the fiercest round of fighting in more than a quarter of a century. Al Jazeera also learned on Tuesday that the total number of civilians killed has risen to 11 – nine in Azerbaijan and two in Armenia, bringing the total death toll to 95. “This is a life-and-death war,” Arayik Harutyunyan, the Nagorno-Karabakh leader, was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying in a news briefing. Fierce clashes continued throughout the day on Monday, officials in Baku and Yerevan said. On Monday evening, Azerbaijani forces launched a “massive offensive at the Karabakh front line’s southern and northeastern sectors,” said Armenia’s Ministry of Defense spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan. “Twenty-six servicemen of Karabakh’s Defence Army died” in action, the Karabakh defence ministry said in a statement late on Monday. style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">