Hey Look! Another Shooting War In Central Asia!

[bayonetbrant]

I guess Armenia and Azerbaijan felt left out, with everyone else shooting at each other.

Armenia threatened 'grave consequences' Wednesday after Azerbaijani forces shot down a military helicopter, sparking fears of a major escalation in the conflict over the disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh.

The downing of the helicopter belonging to the army of the breakaway ethnic Armenian region is the most serious incident on the Karabakh border since the 1994 ceasefire that ended a bloody war that cost 30,000 lives.

Armenian media reported that the helicopter's three crew members were all killed.

"A MI-24 combat helicopter attempted to attack positions of the Azerbaijani army near (Karabakh's) Agdam district," Azerbaijan's defence ministry said in a statement.

"The helicopter has been shot down by the Azerbaijani army," it said, adding that the wreckage fell on territory held by ethnic Armenians.

Yerevan vowed that Baku will face "grave consequences", fuelling fears that the incident might seriously undermine a shaky peace.

"This is an unprecedented escalation and the consequences for Azerbaijan will be grave," Armenia's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Artsrun Hovannisyan, told AFP.

"Azerbaijan's claim that the Armenian helicopter attacked its positions is not true. Examination of the wreckage will prove that the helicopter carried no weapons," he added.

The separatist defence ministry in Karabakh confirmed that its helicopter was downed by Azerbaijani forces "while conducting a training flight as part of military drills", adding that a firefight began after the incident and was continuing.

[endfire79]

They're just had a break the last fewyears.

[Staggerwing]

Somehow Putin will end up benefiting from this, even if it's just because of the distraction from his Ukrainian adventure.

[Gusington]

I agree. Maybe he will invade both to protect Russians in each.

[MIGMaster]

That'd certainly keep him tied up for a bit - if we could only get him to re-invade Afghanistan !

[Staggerwing]

^Hey Migs!
Not a peep for weeks... where ya been man?

[GDS_Starfury]

^Hey Migs!
Not a peep for weeks... where ya been man?

didnt ya see:

[W8taminute]

I'm not surprised at this news.  For the past 10 months I've been reading about how tense things are at the border between these two guys.  It was only a matter of time before something like this happened.

Armenia agreed to have a Russian garrison remain on it's soil sometime last year and to be honest I was relieved a little to hear that.  I know that Russia is probably just using us as well as the Azeris but when push comes to shove I am willing to gamble the Russkies won't allow our people to get wiped out. 

[MIGMaster]

I've been lurking and reviewing Falling Skies - unfortunately, I've also had to work for a living and I'm not keen on it  ;) Don't worry - just flash the MIG signal in the sky and I'll be there  :D