The details were added (the first version was posted at 17:20)
Azerbaijan, Baku, March 20 / Trend M. Aliyev /
Two Armenian civilians interned in Azerbaijan returned to Armenia today under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), ICRC Azerbaijani office told Trend today.
The man and the woman were placed in the care of Armenian officials on the road between the Azerbaijani town of Gazakh and the Armenian town of Ijevan, at the international border.
ICRC delegates had visited the civilians prior to their repatriation in order to assess their treatment and conditions of internment.
Acting as a neutral intermediary and in accordance with its mandate, the ICRC facilitated this repatriation in conjunction with the Azerbaijani and Armenian authorities. The internees had previously confirmed to ICRC delegates that both were returning of their own free will.
Azerbaijani Armed Forces detained two Armenian citizens who were crossing the border between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry said earlier.
Resident of the village of Doveh in the Noyemberyan region, Karian Durmush was detained on March 16 at 16:50 as well as resident of the village of Aygovid, in the Ijevan region Anaid Shamazasovna on March 17 at 16:20 while crossing the border between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops while heading towards the Azerbaijani Gazakh region.
The detainees were handed over to the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons. At present, the causes of the incidents are being examined.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France and the U.S. - are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.