Azerbaijani Copter Downed Over Enclave; 40 Killed

An Azerbaijani civilian helicopter was shot down over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday, killing about 40 people and prompting fears of a fresh round of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan’s mission in Moscow said Armenian militants downed the helicopter with a heat-seeking missile over the enclave, scene of a protracted struggle between the two republics.

No reaction was immediately available from the Armenian side.

The Tass and Interfax news agencies said the helicopter was hit while on a flight from the town of Agdam to Shusha, an Azerbaijani stronghold in mostly Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh.

“According to preliminary data, the helicopter was carrying around 40 people, including women and children. All passengers and crew members died,” Tass quoted a senior Azerbaijani official as saying.

Interfax put the death toll at 47, while the Azerbaijani mission in Moscow said at least 30 people were killed.

Elsewhere in the volatile Caucasus region, Georgian government forces seized the Black Sea town of Poti, one of the last strongholds loyal to ousted President Zviad Gamsakhurdia.

At least 1,000 people have been killed in four years of fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani gunmen over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region within Azerbaijan but populated mainly by Armenians. Clashes have intensified over the last few days.

Musa Mamedov, appointed governor of Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan President Ayaz Mutalibov, appealed earlier to the members of the new Commonwealth of Independent States to stop what he called aggression by Armenian militants.

Tass said that Mamedov’s appeal, also addressed to the European Community and to President Bush, called for help “to keep the Armenian secessionists within the bounds of prudence and political responsibility.”

Peace talks between the two republics were practically brought to a halt and the two sides seemed headed for war in November after the crash of another helicopter carrying senior Azerbaijani officials and peace negotiators from Russia and Kazakhstan. At least 20 people were killed.

Azerbaijan said that helicopter was shot down by Armenian militants fighting for the enclave’s independence from Azerbaijan, but Armenia rejected the charge, saying the helicopter had hit a mountain in bad weather.

Fighting intensified late last year after Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin ordered the withdrawal of troops of the former Soviet Union from the region.