After military operations: More than 50,000 people fled Nagorno-Karabakh

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A relief camp has been set up in the city of Kornidzor. The Armenian government has promised to provide shelter to all refugees.

Last week, Azerbaijan forced the government of the internationally unrecognized Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) to give up with short, violent attacks and captured the region. Since then, a mass exodus of the local population has taken place. Satellite images show long lines of cars.

Kornidzor is located in Armenia, near the Lachin corridor, which connects the Armenian core area with Nagorno-Karabakh, which is on Azerbaijani territory but has until now been inhabited by a majority of Armenians. The area has been a struggle for decades between the ex-Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia. Armenians there fear violence and persecution after the conquest by Azerbaijan.

On Wednesday it was also announced that Azerbaijan had arrested the former head of the Artsakh government, Ruben Vardanyan, at the border with Armenia. Azerbaijan’s border guards said Vardanyan was taken to the capital Baku, where authorities decided to take further action against him. Accordingly, Vardanyan is charged with illegal entry into Azerbaijan. It is not known if there are any further charges against the 55-year-old.

Vardanyan’s wife, Weronika Sonabend, confirmed the arrest. Her husband was captured by Azerbaijani authorities when he tried to travel to Armenia, she wrote on her husband’s Telegram channel on Wednesday. Vardanyan, who became a billionaire in Russia as a businessman, moved to Nagorno-Karabakh last fall and served as head of government there between November 2022 and February 2023.

The Armenians’ escape was also overshadowed by the explosion of a fuel depot. At least 68 people were killed and 290 were injured. The explosion hit people Monday evening who wanted to refuel their cars to flee from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. According to information from Yerevan, 237 injured people have now been brought to Armenia, some by helicopter and some by ambulance. Government spokeswoman Bagdasarjan emphasized that they were both victims of the explosion and victims of the Azerbaijani attack. According to them, another 80 injured people will be taken to Armenia during the day.

Azerbaijan had also offered official assistance to those injured in the fuel depot explosion, with no response from Nagorno-Karabakh. At the same time, Baku announced the amount of its own losses during the military operation to recapture Nagorno-Karabakh. Accordingly, 192 Azerbaijani soldiers died and another 511 were injured.

The catastrophic humanitarian situation in the conflict area is increasing international pressure on Baku. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in a telephone conversation on Tuesday to allow an international observer mission. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said afterwards that Aliyev would accept a mission. (SDA)

Source: Blick