Yerevan: the death toll in the Armenia and Azerbaijan clashes reached 24 amid world nations call for peace between the two countries.

Seventeen Armenian separatist fighters were killed and more than 100 wounded in the fighting, Karabakh President Arayik Harutyunyan said, conceding that his forces had "lost positions".

Both sides also reported civilian casualties.

"We are tired of Azerbaijan's threats, we will fight to the death to resolve the problem once and for all," Artak Bagdasaryan, 36, told AFP in Yerevan, adding that he was waiting to be conscripted into the army.

Karabakh separatists said one Armenian woman and a child were killed, while Baku said that an Azerbaijani family of five died in shelling launched by Armenian separatists.

Azerbaijan claimed it captured a strategic mountain in Karabakh that helps control transport links between Yerevan and the enclave.

Armenian defence ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan in turn said Karabakh rebel forces killed "some 200 Azerbaijani troops and destroyed 30 enemy artillery units and 20 drones".