88 killed in Karabakh

YEREVAN (AFP) - At least 88 people were killed in Nagorny Karabakh during an Armenian offensive in the Mardakert region of the disputed enclave within Azerbaijan, the Armenian defence ministry said yesterday.

It said more than 80 Azeri fighters were killed and 50 taken prisoner, while the Armenians suffered eight dead and 30 injured. The ministry said Armenian forces recaptured the strategic village of Aterk. President Levon Ter Petrosian has said Armenia must liberate the enclave before considering its status.