2008 Mardakert skirmishes The 2008 Mardakert skirmishes began on March 4 after the 2008 Armenian election protests . It involved the heaviest fighting between ethnic Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the disputed region of Nagorno - Karabakh since the 1994 ceasefire after the Nagorno - Karabakh War . Armenian sources accused Azerbaijan of trying to take advantage of ongoing unrest in Armenia . Azerbaijani sources blamed Armenia , claiming that the Armenian government was trying to divert attention from internal tensions in Armenia . Following the incident , on March 14 the United Nations General Assembly by a recorded vote of 39 in favour to 7 against adopted Resolution 62 / 243 , demanding the immediate withdrawal of all Armenian forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan . Background . Nagorno - Karabakh War . During and shortly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union , Armenians in the Nagorno - Karabakh Autonomous Oblast and Azeris were involved in the Nagorno - Karabakh War from February 1988 to May 1994 . As the war progressed , the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan became enveloped in a protracted , undeclared war as Azerbaijan attempted to curb the secessionist movement in Nagorno - Karabakh . The enclave ' s parliament voted on February 20 , 1988 , to unify with Armenia , and the vast majority of the Karabakh population voted in favor of independence in a referendum . The demand to unify with Armenia , which proliferated in the late 1980s , began in a relatively peaceful manner ; however , in the following months , as the Soviet Union ' s disintegration neared , it gradually grew into an increasingly violent conflict between the two ethnic groups , resulting in claims of ethnic cleansing by all sides . The war was the most destructive ethnic conflict in both terms of lives and property that emerged after the Soviet Union collapsed in December 1991 . The declaration of independence was the final result of a " long - standing resentment in the Armenian community of Nagorno Karabakh against serious limitations of its cultural and religious freedom by central Soviet and Azerbaijani authorities , " but more importantly , as a territorial conflict regarding the land . As Azerbaijan declared its independence from the Soviet Union and removed the powers held by the enclave ' s government , the Armenian majority voted to secede from Azerbaijan , and in the process proclaimed the Republic of Nagorno - Karabakh . Full - scale fighting erupted in the late winter of 1992 . International mediation by several groups including the Organization for Security and Co - operation in Europe ( OSCE ) failed to bring an end resolution that both sides could work with . In the spring of 1993 , Armenian forces captured regions outside the enclave itself , threatening the involvement of other countries in the region . By the cease fire in 1994 , the Armenians were in full control of not only the enclave but also approximately 9 % of Azerbaijan ' s territory outside the enclave , which they still control . As many as 230 , 000 Armenians from Azerbaijan and 800 , 000 Azeris from Armenia and Karabakh have been displaced as a result of the conflict . A Russia n - brokered cease fire was signed in May 1994 and peace talks , mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group , have been held ever since by Armenia and Azerbaijan . The ceasefire is self - monitored by the armed forces of the now " de facto " independent Republic of Nagorno - Karabakh and by Azerbaijan . Violations of the cease fire in the form of sporadic shooting incidents have occurred , but the cease fire has largely held . 2008 Armenian presidential election protests . Following the Armenian Presidential Election of 2008 , there were a series of mass protests in Yerevan , Armenia alleging electoral fraud . Initially these protests were peaceful though unauthorized by government . They began on February 20 and lasted for 10 - days . Despite the urging of the government to stop the unauthorized demonstrations , the protests continued till March 1 . On the morning of March 1 , police and army troops dispersed the 700 - 1 , 000 persons who remained overnight . At noon on March 1 , over ten thousand demonstrators held a protest at the French embassy in Yerevan and over the evening , clashes broke out between protestors and law enforcement . A 20 - day state of emergency , including a censure on free press , was declared by the incumbent President Robert Kocharyan . On March 2 , the Armenian Army was arrived to with armoured personnel carriers . Up to 9 people died in clashes between police and protesters : one police officer and eight civilians . Sixteen officers were hospitalized with bullet wounds . On March 4 , 2008 , the OSCE issued a press release citing the ban on independent news coverage and censorship temporarily imposed by Armenian authorities as contrary to OSCE commitments . In this context , the Armenian side blames Azerbaijan for trying to take advantage of unrest in Armenia . The Azeri side blames Armenia claiming that they are trying to divert attention from problems at home however Azerbaijan ' s President Ilham Aliyev has also said his country is ready to re - take the region by force , and has been buying the military hardware and ammunition to do so . Prelude . In a sign of disapproval after the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence , Azerbaijan ' s parliament voted to withdraw a 33 - strong Azeri peacekeeping team that has been serving there under NATO command since 1999 , as a part of Turkish peacekeeping mission . Speaking on March 4 , Azerbaijan ' s president Ilham Aliyev said that Kosovo ' s independence is " emboldening Armenian separatists in Nagorno - Karabakh " , and that his country was ready to take it back by force . Prior to the skirmishes , Ilham Aliyev had insisted on numerous occasions that his country was ready to re - take the region by force , and had been buying the military hardware and ammunition to do so . Aliyev nevertheless expressed hope that Azerbaijan ' s growing military could nudge talks towards a diplomatic breakthrough : " A time will come when the Armenians will agree to that ( settlement ) , " he said . Active stage . Armenian version of events . According to the Armenian side , Azerbaijani forces attacked Armenian positions near the village of Levonarkh in the Mardakert Region of north - eastern Nagorno - Karabakh early March 4 , 2008 . They then briefly seized positions held by Armenian forces , which were later recaptured . The Armenian side also claimed that 8 Azeri servicemen were killed and 7 wounded , with 2 Armenian servicemen wounded , and that the Azeris fled leaving armament on the battlefield . Armenian president Robert Kocharyan also claimed that Azeri troops used heavy artillery in fighting . Azerbaijani version of events . According to the Azerbaijani side , Armenian forces attacked the positions of Azerbaijani army in the Tartar district of Azerbaijan . In the resulting battle , 8 Azeri servicemen and 12 Armenian servicemen were killed , and 4 Armenian servicemen were wounded . Aftermath . Azerbaijani side announced the names of 4 killed servicemen On March 7 , 2008 Nagorno - Karabakh ' s Defacto news agency reports a concentration Azerbaijani troops at the contact line where the prior ceasefire violation occurred . On March 8 – 9 another exchange of gunfire occurred at the contact line near Agdam . Azerbaijani Defense Ministry spokesman Eldar Sabiroglu said two Azerbaijani civilians were killed and two wounded in the shooting overnight on March 8 , in the Agdam region . Sabiroglu claimed that additional small arms gunfire between Armenian and Azeri troops occurred on March 9 , killing one Azerbaijani soldier and injuring another . He also claimed that an Armenian soldier was also killed which Nagorno - Karabakh ' s defense minister , Lt . Col . Senor Asratian , denied . Dispute over casualties . The Armenian head of national military investigation institute of the Defense Ministry rejected the Azerbaijani claim about 12 Armenian deaths Meanwhile , the press service of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense insisted that the claim by Armenian president about 8 casualties on Azeri side was false because it would be impossible to hide the deaths of four more servicemen in the presence of the media and the public in Azerbaijan . Azerbaijan insisted that 4 Azeri soldiers and 12 Armenian soldiers were killed and 15 Armenian soldiers wounded , while Armenia insists that 8 Azeri soldiers were killed and 7 wounded , and that 2 Armenian soldiers were wounded , with no Armenian fatalities . International reaction . - Finnish foreign minister and OSCE Chairman - in - Office , Ilkka Kanerva , urged everyone concerned to “ exercise maximum restraint , and observe the terms of the ceasefire " . United States - State Department spokesman Tom Casey told reporters that the US was concerned about the incident , which only served to underline the need for a negotiated settlement . OSCE Minsk Group - French , Russian and U . S . co - chairs said the conflicting parties should “ restore confidence along the Line of Contact and desist from any further confrontations , escalation of violence or warmongering rhetoric . ” They also called on Baku and Yerevan to “ redouble their efforts to endorse the Basic Principles for the peaceful resolution of the conflict presented to the sides on the margins of the Madrid OSCE Ministerial in November 2007 , and to begin as soon as possible the process of drafting a peace agreement on this basis . ”