Nearly 100 reported dead in fresh clashes between Azerbaijani, Armenian troops

Nearly 100 soldiers from both sides were reported dead as fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan flared up again on Monday night.

According to reports, Azerbaijani forces shelled Armenian troops at three locations along the border at around midnight. Azerbaijan said it was responding to a buildup of Armenian landmines and weapons near the border.

The fighting took place near the Nagorno-Karabakh region, an area within Azerbaijan where ethnic Armenian separatists declared a breakaway republic — later known as Artsakh — in 1991.

At a press briefing early on Tuesday, Armenian defence spokesperson Aram Torosyan said the situation remains "extremely tense" as fighting continues.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan later told parliament that "For the moment, we have 49 [troops] killed and unfortunately it's not the final figure."

Later on Tuesday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's office released a statement following his meeting with military leadership, saying: "Provocations committed by Armenian forces at the border have been averted and all necessary objectives were fulfilled."

The Azeri Defence Ministry then said that at least 50 service members had been killed in the clashes as Russian President Vladimir Putin appealed for calm on both sides. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had urged an immediate end to hostilities for which both side are holding responsible each other.