(Bloomberg) -- Deadly clashes erupted between Azerbaijan and Armenia, prompting the latter to ask Russia for military assistance in a new flare-up between the Caucasus neighbors that fought a 44-day war last year.

The secretary of Armenia’s Security Council, Armen Grigoryan, accused Azerbaijan of attacking his country’s “sovereign territory” on Tuesday and asked Moscow for help.“We appeal to the Russian Federation to protect the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia based on an agreement signed in 1997” on mutual defense, Grigoryan said on public TV.

Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry dismissed the accusation, saying an Armenian attack near the two countries’ shared border wounded two Azeri soldiers. Armenia’s Defense Ministry said it lost two military positions and several troops were killed in the fighting, without giving a number. Four Armenian soldiers were injured and 12 others captured by Azeri forces, it said.

The Azeri Defense Ministry said Armenians were leaving their military positions “in panic.”Tensions remain high between Azerbaijan and Armenia after six weeks of fighting last year that killed over 6,000 troops on both sides. Azerbaijan reclaimed control of parts of the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding territory before Russia brokered a cease-fire a year ago, deploying 2,000 troops to maintain peace.

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