- 28,000 Armenians left Karabakh
- The streets of the enclave were clogged
- Death toll from tank farm fire increases
- The US urges Azerbaijan to allow observers and assistance
GORIS, Armenia, Sept 27 (Portal) – Tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians fled the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region into Armenia on Wednesday after a lightning-fast military operation by Azerbaijan that has changed the contours of the post-Soviet South Caucasus.
So far, more than 28,000 of the 120,000 Armenians of Karabakh, a region internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, have crossed the border into Armenia, a country of about 2.8 million people.
An Azerbaijani military victory over the enclave previously outside Baku’s control a week ago sparked one of the largest movements of people in the South Caucasus since the fall of the Soviet Union.
The serpentine road that wound from Karabakh to Armenia was packed with people. Many slept in cars or searched for firewood on the side of the road to keep warm.
“I left everything behind. I don’t know what to expect. I do not have anything. I don’t want anything,” Vera Petrosyan, a 70-year-old retired teacher, told Portal on Tuesday at the large Soviet A period hotel on the Armenian side of the border with Azerbaijan that is now her home.
“I don’t want anyone to see what I saw,” she added, reflecting on the shootings, hunger, unrest and suffering she experienced before fleeing to Armenia.
Azerbaijan’s 24-hour offensive in Karabakh came amid a blockade imposed on the enclave last December. It is not clear what exactly happened before the Karabakh leadership agreed to a ceasefire. Azerbaijan says civilians were not harmed.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars over the enclave in 30 years – with Azerbaijan retaking territory in and around Nagorno-Karabakh in a six-week conflict in 2020.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Armenians’ rights would be respected but said his “iron fist” had made the idea of an independent ethnic Armenian Karabakh a thing of the past and the region would be turned into a “paradise.”
Karabakh Armenians told Portal they did not want to live as part of Azerbaijan and feared ethnic cleansing by Azerbaijan, which has repeatedly dismissed such claims as nonsense.
Some have taken down statues to their heroes
Refugees from the Nagorno-Karabakh region ride in the back of a truck as they arrive in the border village of Kornidzor, Armenia, September 26, 2023. Portal/Irakli Gedenidze ACQUIRES LICENSE RIGHTS
FIRE AND DIPLOMACY
As thousands rushed to leave, a massive explosion occurred at a fuel depot in Nagorno-Karabakh’s Askeran district on Monday, according to local authorities. It was unclear what the cause was.
There were conflicting reports about the number of casualties from the explosion, but Armenian authorities said at least 68 people were killed, 105 missing and nearly 300 injured.
The seriously injured were evacuated to Armenia by helicopter as roads were so congested that a journey of just 77 km (48 miles) to the border took at least 30 hours.
The Karabakh crisis has shifted alliances in the South Caucasus region, a patchwork of ethnic groups between the Caspian and Black Seas where Russia, the United States, Turkey and Iran compete for influence.
Armenia, which has been allied with Russia, is publicly feuding with Moscow, which in turn has warned Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is facing calls to resign, to stop flirting with the West.
The United States, home to the world’s second-largest Armenian diaspora after Russia, sent senior officials to Armenia to show support.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Azerbaijan’s Aliyev on Tuesday to “emphasize the need for Azerbaijan to refrain from further hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh and to provide unhindered access for humanitarian assistance,” state spokesman Matthew Miller said.
“The secretary called on President Aliyev to commit to a comprehensive amnesty and allow an international observer mission in Nagorno-Karabakh,” Miller said.
Aliyev told Blinken that “during the anti-terrorism measures, which lasted less than 24 hours, only military facilities were attacked and civilians were not harmed,” according to a statement from the Azerbaijani presidential office.
“President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that relevant activities are underway to ensure the rights of Armenian residents living in the Karabakh region,” it said.
(This story has been re-archived to correct a typo in the word “lightning” in paragraph 1.)
Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Edited by Philippa Fletcher
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