Armenia dismisses head of National Security Service

MOSCOW

Armenian’s president on Thursday dismissed the head of the country's National Security Service.

Armen Sarkissian dismissed Argishti Karamyan from his post, according to a decree on the Armenian presidential website.

Karamyan's dismissal came at the suggestion of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, it said.

The decree gave no reason for the dismissal, but he was apparently only appointed this June.

The move also comes amid combat with Azerbaijani forces after Armenian forces attacked on Sept. 27, in which Armenian forces have reportedly suffered heavy losses.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh, or Nagorno-Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.

The OSCE Minsk Group -- co-chaired by France, Russia and the US -- was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, but to no avail. A cease-fire was agreed to in 1994.

Turkey has condemned the Armenian occupation, and vowed support for Azerbaijan.

* Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev from Ankara