it began with a decision soviet leader joseph stahlin made in 1922. he placed the enclave of the area inside the newly created azerbaijan. christian armenians and muslim azerris lived in peace. then in the 80s, armenians held a national referendum for independence from azerbaijan and self-rule. azerbaijan says p said the region did not have the legal right and sent in its military to retake the area. thousands of muslim people from the area were forced to flee and after years of fighting and more than 30,000 deaths the region, armenia and azerbaijan reached a truce in 1994. >> translation: we are fighting on our own territory. if a soldier doesn't want to die, then let them get off azerbaijan territory. >> reporter: the republic is not recognised by the u.n. analysts believe the renewed skirmishes could lead to a greater regional war >> the big question mark worried about is that it wouldn't stay confined to those two countries. there is a good possibility of turkish intervention and a possibility of russian intervention if the fighting becomes an all