海角大神

At least 16 military and several civilians were killed on Sunday in the heaviest clashes between聽Armenia聽and聽Azerbaijan聽since 2016, reigniting concern about stability in the South Caucasus, a corridor for pipelines carrying oil and gas to world markets.

The clashes between the two former Soviet republics, which fought a war in the 1990s, were the latest flare-up of a long-running conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway region that is inside聽Azerbaijan聽but is run by ethnic聽Armenians.

Nagorno-Karabakh said 16 of its servicemen had been killed and more than 100 wounded after聽Azerbaijan聽launched an air and artillery attack early on Sunday.聽Armenia聽and Nagorno-Karabakh declared martial law and mobilized the male population.

Azerbaijan, which also declared martial law, said its forces responded to聽Armenian shelling and that five members of one family had been killed by聽Armenian shelling.

It also said its forces had seized control of up to seven villages. Nagorno-Karabakh initially denied this but later acknowledged losing 鈥渟ome positions鈥� and said it had suffered a number of civilian casualties, without giving details.

The clashes prompted a flurry of diplomacy to reduce the new tensions in a decades-old conflict between majority 海角大神聽Armenia聽and mainly Muslim聽Azerbaijan, with Russia calling for an immediate ceasefire and another regional power, Turkey, saying it would support聽Azerbaijan.

The United States Department of State condemned the violence in a statement, calling for an immediate halt to hostilities and any rhetoric or other actions that could worsen matters.

U.S. Democratic presidential nominee and former vice president Joe Biden said in a statement that hostilities could escalate into a wider conflict and urged the Trump administration to push for more observers along the ceasefire line and for Russia 鈥渢o stop cynically providing arms to both sides.鈥�

Pipelines shipping Caspian oil and natural gas from聽Azerbaijan聽to the world pass close to Nagorno-Karabakh.聽Armenia聽also warned about security risks in the South Caucasus in July after聽Azerbaijan聽threatened to attack聽Armenia鈥檚 nuclear power plant as possible retaliation.

Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from聽Azerbaijan聽in a conflict that broke out as the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

Though a ceasefire was agreed in 1994, after thousands of people were killed and many more displaced,聽Azerbaijan聽and聽Armenia聽frequently accuse each other of attacks around Nagorno-Karabakh and along the separate Azeri-Armenian frontier.

In Sunday鈥檚 clashes,聽Armenian right activists said an ethnic聽Armenian woman and child had also been killed.

International responses call for diplomacy

Armenia聽said Azeri forces had attacked civilian targets including Nagorno-Karabakh鈥檚 capital, Stepanakert, and promised a 鈥減roportionate response.鈥�

鈥淲e stay strong next to our army to protect our motherland from Azeri invasion,鈥澛燗rmenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote on Twitter.

Azerbaijan聽denied an聽Armenian defense ministry statement that said Azeri helicopters and tanks had been destroyed, and accused聽Armenian forces of launching 鈥渄eliberate and targeted鈥� attacks along the front line.

鈥淲e defend our territory, our cause is right!鈥澛燗zerbaijan鈥檚 president, Ilham Aliyev, said in an address to the nation.

Turkey said it was talking to members of the Minsk group, which mediates between聽Armenia聽and聽Azerbaijan. Russia, France, and the United States are co-presidents.

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone to Mr. Pashinyan but no details of the conversation were available, and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke to Mr. Aliyev.

Mr. Erdogan, promising support for traditional ally聽Azerbaijan, said聽Armenia聽was 鈥渢he biggest threat to peace in the region鈥� and called on 鈥渢he entire world to stand with聽Azerbaijan聽in their battle against invasion and cruelty.鈥�

Mr. Pashinyan hit back, urged the international community to ensure Turkey does not get involved in the conflict.

The European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) urged both sides to stop military actions and return to negotiations, as did Pope Francis.

At least 200 people were killed in a flare-up of the conflict between聽Armenia聽and聽Azerbaijan聽in April 2016. At least 16 people were killed in clashes in July.

This story was reported by Reuters. Additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara.