BAKU/YEREVAN: Several Azeri and Armenian soldiers have been killed and wounded in border clashes, defence ministries of both countries said on Monday, with each accusing the other of encroaching on their territory.

The two former Soviet republics have long been in conflict over Azerbaijan’s breakaway, mainly ethnic Armenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh, although the latest clashes occurred some 300 km (190 miles) from the mountainous enclave.

The Azeri defence ministry said four of its soldiers were killed and five wounded while Armenia’s ministry said that two of its soldiers were wounded. The two sides traded accusations of ceasefire violations and firing artillery.

Exchanges of fire began on Sunday and continued into Monday in the rugged South Caucasus region.

Nagorno-Karabakh, a highland enclave within Azerbaijan, is run by ethnic Armenians who declared independence during a conflict that broke out as the Soviet Union crumbled in 1991.