Since Azerbaijan’s military operation began, nearly 90,000 refugees have left Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia.
“Ethnic cleansing”. With these words, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian described the intervention of the Azerbaijani armed forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
“Our analysis shows that there will be no more Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh in the coming days,” the Armenian head of government continued.
Traffic jams for miles
The self-proclaimed separatist republic of Nagorno-Karabakh announced on Thursday that it would disband on January 1, 2024, more than 30 years after its founding and a week after a victorious offensive by Azerbaijan.
A satellite image taken on September 27, 2023, showing the highway between Kornidzor and Stepanakert in Lachin district of Azerbaijan, where Armenian refugees are pouring in from Nagorno-Karabakh. – HANDOUT / PLANET LABS PBC
Even before this declaration, the long-contested area began to empty of its Armenian residents, who were emigrating en masse.
In satellite images released this Friday, September 29, impressive traffic jams can be observed on the only road leading from Lachin District to Armenia’s customs stations. Trucks, cars and other vehicles transported residents of the enclave, most of whom left hastily despite reassuring messages from Baku urging them “not to leave their homes.”
Armenian refugees heading to the Lachin Corridor (Azerbaijan) to reach Armenia, September 28, 2023. – Siranush Sargsyan
“I wish there was no war. We should live together,” lamented Slava Osipyan, a Nagorno-Karabakh resident who joined Armenia. “God brought us here so we could live.”
“Let the children stay in Armenia, I would like to come back (to Nagorno-Karabakh),” said Enrik Harutunyan, also a refugee.
“We are like homeless dogs now, that’s what we are,” Narine Shakaryan testified, “let the whole world know.” [..] that it is a genocide against a Christian nation.”
Almost 90,000 people have fled the enclave
A very large number of Nagorno-Karabakh residents initially found refuge in Goris, a city in southeastern Armenia not far from the Azerbaijani border, where the Red Cross looked after them.
“We didn’t want to lose our house, but it was an order (from the Azerbaijani government, editor’s note),” explains Pargev Aghababyan, who moved from Nagorno-Karabakh with his wife.
Armenian refugees in the city of Goris, Armenia on September 29, 2023, before being transferred to other cities following their exodus from Nagorno-Karabakh. -Alain Jocard
According to Public Radio of Armenia, as of September 29, 88,780 people have fled Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. According to the Armenian Prime Minister’s spokesman, 63,483 were officially registered.
Hugues Garnier with AFP journalist BFMTV