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President Mikhail Gorbachev has made a statement on Soviet television explaining the Soviet crackdown on civil unrest in the republic of Azerbaijan.

Two days ago Soviet troops were ordered into the republic to try and end the undeclared conflict between Muslim Azeris and Christian Armenians, and put down a separatist insurrection by Azerbaijani nationalists.

Official reports say up to 60 people died when tanks rolled into the republic's capital, Baku.

President Gorbachev, who is confronting his worst crisis since he became leader, said he had no choice but to order his troops in.

"To our deepest regret people have died," the Soviet leader said in a live 12-minute address on TV.

"Militant nationalist careerists refused to listen to the voice of reason.

"Events took a particularly tragic turn in Baku. There were growing calls for seizure of power by force."

He said that he hoped the decision to send in the army would "be understood and supported by all citizens of our country".

President Gorbachev also extended his deepestcondolencesto the relatives of the victims who died in the takeover.

The move comes after tension erupted recently at a nationalist rally in Soviet Transcaucasia.

In the ensuing pogroms in Baku, Armenian homes were set on fire and looted while many Armenians were killed or injured.

In the disputed Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh, roads were blocked and trains were halted.

Azerbaijan's President Elmira Kafarova said in a statement broadcast on Baku radio that her people would "never forgive" those responsible for the deaths.

Communist Party politician Boris Yeltsin also condemned the use of armed forces.

"It is a mistake to dispatch troops and suppress ethnic problems by armed force," he added.

He warned that East European socialism had become corrupted "because it was state socialism guarded by the military".

Dr Sakharov has openly opposed the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

Officials in Moscow were angered by an interview Dr Sakharov gave American television last week, in which he called for the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.

It was the final straw after the Nobel peace prize winner had escaped arrest during more than 13 years of dissident activity.

In the interview, Dr Sakharov also told American viewers he supported plans to boycott the summer Olympics in Moscow.

He said he was in favour of the US sanctions ordered by President Carter in retaliation for the invasion.

Arrested by KGB

The scientist and his wife, Yelena Bonner, were seized by officers of the Soviet secret service, the KGB, while walking in a Moscow street.

Dr Sakharov was stripped of his official honours.

The couple were given two hours to pack before being sent to Gorky, an industrial city 250 miles east of Moscow and off limits to foreign reporters.

Dr Sakharov was credited with creating the first Soviet hydrogen bomb - but later became involved in campaigning for nuclear disarmament.

He won the 1975 Nobel Peace Price because of his fight for human rights.

In a recent interview with the BBC, Dr Sakharov spoke about the need for change in the Soviet Union.

He said: "Our country, like every modern state, needs profound democratic reforms. It needs political and ideological pluralism, a mixed economy and protection of human rights and the opening up of society."

condolence: an expression of sympathy with another's grief（哀悼）