Armenian, Azerbaijani troops exchange fire

MOSCOW, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Armenian and Azerbaijani troops exchanged fire Tuesday in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh area, Itar-Tass news agency said.

The incident, which occurred in the Mardakert district in the northwest of Nagorno-Karabakh region, is a "fairly serious encroachment," Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan was quoted as saying.

"This is different from a usual violation of the cease-fire regime" adopted by the two sides in 1994, he said.

The territory of Nagorno-Karabakh is a region in Azerbaijan populated mostly by ethnic Armenians.

Three Azeri soldiers have been killed in the clash, Azeri television said on Tuesday, while the Azeri Defense Ministry declined to confirm the casualties.

Armed conflict broke out in the early 1990s between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the region's status after it declared independence, which was not recognized by the international community.

A Russian-brokered cease-fire halted the fighting in 1994, but the dispute remains unsolved.