According to Armenia, at least 28,120 ethnic Armenians from the breakaway region entered the country following Azerbaijan’s offensive.
An explosion and fire at a fuel depot in Nagorno-Karabakh killed dozens of people and injured hundreds more, while ethnic Armenians fled the region following a lightning military offensive by Azerbaijan.
The death toll from the explosion rose to 68 on Tuesday, the Karabakh ombudsman’s office said. At least 105 people were missing and 290 others were injured, it said.
The explosion occurred late Monday outside the regional capital Stepanakert – called Khankendi by Azerbaijan. The depot was used to distribute fuel to those who wanted to leave the region by car. Hundreds of people were gathered there when the explosion occurred.
Last week’s offensive followed a months-long blockade of the region by Azerbaijan that led to shortages of vital supplies.
“As a result of the explosion, Azerbaijan prepared nearby local hospitals and began negotiations on the evacuation of the wounded, but representatives of the Armenian residents of Karabakh did not accept this proposal,” Al Jazeera correspondent Osama bin Javaid reported from Azerbaijan city of Horadiz.
The death toll announcement came as thousands of people continued to flee the region. Armenia reported that 28,120 ethnic Armenians had entered the country. The government also announced that it would provide shelter to all those in need.
US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said the US was pushing for humanitarian access to the region.
“We are saddened by the news that at least 68 people were killed and hundreds injured in an explosion at a fuel depot in Nagorno-Karabakh, and we express our deep condolences to the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh and all those who suffered,” she said.
“We urge that all those in need continue to have humanitarian access to Nagorno-Karabakh.”
Samantha Power, head of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), said the US would send $11.5 million in humanitarian aid.
Armenians wait in their cars at the border crossing station at the Lachin checkpoint [Emmanuel Dunad/AFP]The Azerbaijani military attacked Nagorno-Karabakh on September 19 and announced 24 hours later that it had won control of the enclave. The offensive forced Armenian authorities in the region to agree to lay down arms and begin “reintegration” talks under a ceasefire agreement brokered by traditional regional power Russia.
The Azerbaijani authorities promised to respect the rights and safety of Armenians living in the region. But news of their reintegration into Azerbaijan sparked panic and chaos among ethnic Armenians, who feared that the long history of hatred and violence between the two would make any form of coexistence impossible.
On the way to Armenia, more and more residents seemed to be fleeing the region.
“It’s a steady flow of people, we saw miles-long lines of people in the distance lining up to leave,” bin Javaid said.
“People are living with whatever they can lay their hands on, in whatever vehicle they can find, but they want out despite all the assurances from the Azerbaijani authorities,” he added.
At a refugee center in Goris, Valentina Asryan, a 54-year-old from the village of Vank who fled with her grandchildren, told AFP that her brother-in-law had been killed by Azerbaijani fire and several other people were injured.
A long argument
Nagorno-Karabakh has been disputed for more than three decades, with Baku and Yerevan vying for control.
The area is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but is heavily populated by ethnic Armenians.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh declared their independence with the aim of reunification with Armenia. This sparked a bloody war in the 1990s that ended with Armenians taking control of the enclave and several surrounding districts.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced due to the conflict.
A second war broke out in 2020 as Azerbaijan recaptured territory in and around the enclave.
After 44 days of fighting, Russia brokered a ceasefire and stationed nearly 2,000 peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh.