Nagorno-Karabakh is now completely part of Azerbaijan again. Since the reconquest, many people have fled the region to Armenia. Yerevan warns of “ethnic cleansing”. What’s next?
After Azerbaijan recaptured the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict region in the South Caucasus, the flow of fleeing residents has not stopped. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said that almost 89,000 people had already arrived in Armenia by Friday morning.
People are anxious and worried about the future, said Kavita Belani, the UNHCR representative in Armenia, to journalists in Geneva via video link from the capital Yerevan. They had expected 90,000 refugees, but expectations would have to be adjusted. The UNHCR is also prepared to help 120,000 people.
Appeals to the international community
The manager of the Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Armenia, Hicham Diab, said many arrivals were too exhausted to report their experiences. They need psychosocial help to cope with the escape. Both organizations appealed to the international community to provide financial assistance to Armenia in accepting the refugees.
The people were forced to leave their homes, said government spokeswoman Naseli Bagdassarjan in Yerevan. According to official, unverifiable figures, 120,000 Karabakh Armenians lived in the region. The authoritarian-ruled Azerbaijan reconquered the region, which had been fought over for decades, in a military offensive last week.
Self-dissolution on January 1, 2024
The leadership of the internationally unrecognized Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) then capitulated and this week also sealed its self-dissolution on January 1, 2024. The Azerbaijani government and Russia, which is considered Armenia’s protecting power, had emphasized that there was no reason to flee. However, Karabakh Armenians fear persecution and violence from Azerbaijan.
In Yerevan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accused the neighboring country of “ethnic cleansing” at a government meeting on Thursday evening. “The analysis of the situation shows that in the coming days there will be no more Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.” In the past there had been conflicts between the Christian Karabakh Armenians and the Muslim Azerbaijanis.
According to the Armenian government, a humanitarian center for the refugees has been set up near Nagorno-Karabakh. The government spokeswoman said the people received accommodation. Nagorno-Karabakh’s human rights commissioner, Gegam Stepanyan, said at least 200 people were killed and around 400 injured in the fighting. The Azerbaijani side also reported losses in its own ranks.
The region has been disputed for decades between the feuding ex-Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia. In the 1990s, Nagorno-Karabakh, which lies on Azerbaijani territory but is predominantly inhabited by Armenians, was able to break away from Baku in a bloody civil war with the help of Yerevan. Azerbaijan, which is militarily armed thanks to oil and gas revenues, managed to recapture large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020. A ceasefire brokered by Russia proved fragile.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
