Azeri police on Sunday arrested about 60 protesters demonstrating against the deaths of 15 soldiers who were killed in accidents or were allegedly abused by their officers in the past two months.

About a thousand people took part in the central Baku rally called "A protest against the peacetime death of soldiers".

Police used water cannon and stun grenades in an attempt to disperse the crowd before moving in and making the arrests.

Army generals insist that the soldiers died of illnesses rather than accidents or mistreatment but the families of the dead soldiers have cited cases of hazing, which is also prevalent in other armies of the former Soviet Union.