Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday that one of its soldiers had been killed by a sniper of Armenian forces in Kelbajar, but the alleged incident was quickly denied by Armenia, Reuters reported.

Azerbaijan has taken control of Nagorno-Karabakh, ethnic Armenians say they want everyone out of therePhoto: RIA Novosti / Sputnik / Profimedia

According to Interfax, the Ministry of Defense of Armenia stated that this information is not true, without providing additional details.

The controversial statements come as a mass exodus of ethnic Armenians from the Nagorno-Karabakh region continues after Azerbaijan defeated militants from the separatist region this month in a conflict dating back to the Soviet era.

According to the head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 100,000 of the estimated 120,000 ethnic Armenians have already left the region for Armenia.