Turkey on Thursday accused neighbouring Armenia of using "disproportionate force" after a shepherd was shot dead by Armenian soldiers patrolling the sealed border, local media reported.

Governor Eyup Tepe said there had been similar incidents in the past and chided Yerevan for using "disproportionate force," in remarks carried by the private Dogan News Agency.

The shepherd identified as Mustafa Ulker, 35, was grazing cattle in the eastern town of Akyaka and went to the border after one of the animals crossed, the agency said.

Armenia and Turkey have no diplomatic ties. Ankara closed the border in 1993 in solidarity with its regional ally Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region.

The two countries remain deeply at odds over the mass killings of Armenians during the Ottoman Empire, which Armenia says was genocide.