Armenia says one of its fighter jets was shot down by a Turkish jet in a major escalation of the conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.[contfnewc]
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The Armenian foreign ministry said the pilot of the Soviet-made SU-25 died after being hit by the Turkish F-16 in Armenian air space.[contfnewc]
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Turkey, which is backing Azerbaijan in the conflict, has denied the claim.[contfnewc]
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Nearly 100 people, including civilians, have died in three days of fighting over the disputed mountainous region.[contfnewc]
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The enclave is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but has been run by ethnic Armenians since a 1988-94 war between the two former Soviet republics.[contfnewc]
Azerbaijan has repeatedly stated that its air force does not have F-16 fighter jets. However, Turkey does.[contfnewc]
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The fighting that started three days ago now appears to be spilling out of Nagorno-Karabakh, with Armenia and Azerbaijan trading accusations of direct fire into their territories.[contfnewc]
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They also blame each other for starting the conflict.[contfnewc]
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While Turkey openly backs Azerbaijan, Russia – which has a military base in Armenia but is also friendly with Azerbaijan – has called for an immediate ceasefire.[contfnewc]
What’s happened to the jet?
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Armenian Defence Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said the Armenian SU-25 was shot down on Tuesday morning and the pilot “died heroically”.[contfnewc]
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In a Facebook post, she said the Turkish F-16 was 60km (37 miles) deep into Armenian air space.[contfnewc]
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Turkey immediately denied the claim as “absolutely untrue”.[contfnewc]
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“Armenia should withdraw from the territories under its occupation instead of resorting to cheap propaganda tricks,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s aide Fahrettin Altun said.[contfnewc]
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No material evidence about the jet has yet been released. Azerbaijan has called for Armenia to provide it.[contfnewc]
What is the latest from the battlefield?
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Earlier on Tuesday, both Armenia and Azerbaijan said that heavy fighting had continued overnight in Nagorno-Karabakh.[contfnewc]
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The region’s self-proclaimed authorities said 87 of their military personnel had been killed and 120 wounded since the fighting began on Sunday, according to the Armenpress news agency.[contfnewc]
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They put the number of deaths on the Azerbaijani side at nearly 400, saying that one aircraft, four helicopters and a number of tanks had been destroyed.[contfnewc]
Azerbaijan has released no figures on its military casualties, but says 12 civilians were killed by Armenia fire.[contfnewc]
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Azerbaijan’s defence ministry was quoted by news agencies as saying that Armenian troops had repeatedly tried and failed to regain lost positions in the Fuzuli-Jabrayil and Aghdere-Terter areas.[contfnewc]
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The ministry said that a column of Armenian armoured and other combat vehicles had been destroyed, adding that the enemy had suffered heavy losses.[contfnewc]
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The casualty claims by Armenia and Azerbaijan have not been independently verified.[contfnewc]
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What chance of a ceasefire?
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There appears to be little at the moment.[contfnewc]
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Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told Russian media the atmosphere was not right for talks while military operations were ongoing.[contfnewc]
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Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, also speaking to Russian outlets, ruled out any talks given Armenia’s current stance.[contfnewc]
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