13:30,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 14, ARMENPRESS. President Vahagn Khachaturyan has signed into law the bill on ratifying the Rome Statute (the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court), which was by parliament on October 3, the president's office said in a statement.
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TUMANYAN, Armenia, Oct 9 (Reuters) – A disused Armenian textile factory has become a sanctuary for artists and other emigres from Russia, Iran and Ukraine whose lives have been turned upside down by war or political turmoil.
Abandoned workshops that once produced Soviet knitwear have been turned into a creative space for painters, puppet-makers and photographers in a venture that is helping to revitalise a town in decline.
Launched in 2022, the project is called Abastan – "shelter" in Armenian – and is open to participants and guests from around the world.
Polina Ivanova, a co-founder of Abastan, said locals in the northern Armenian town of Tumanyan were at first bemused by the strangers in their midst.
"I think that for many people this was really incomprehensible: who are those people? Why are they here?…
"And slowly, sometimes through public events like theatre performances, sometimes through personal relationships, we get to know the people and people get to know us."
Arghavan Majd, a painter from Iran, said she found the atmosphere "more free" in Abastan and it was easier to make personal connections.
Since Majd left Iran, the country has been convulsed by protests over the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody, and she said she had no intention of going back.
Torfeh Ekhlasi, a puppet maker also from Iran, said she had felt "completely paralysed by bad news" there, "but here all the people are so alive".
Danil, a software engineer from the Russian city of Perm, said he left after President Vladimir Putin called up 300,000 men last year to fight in the war in Ukraine.
"I simply didn't agree with the political agenda in the country and thought that it was dangerous to stay in Russia given my views," he said.
Abastan was established as a charity with funds from an American-Armenian philanthropist who has chosen to remain anonymous. When Reuters journalists visited last month, there were a couple of dozen people in residence – three Iranians, two Ukrainians, an Armenian, a Georgian and the rest from Russia.
Some live on savings or money from relatives, others sell their art or work online – though one Russian said that source of income had dried up.
"At first I worked remotely. And then my company was told that it was undesirable for staff to work from abroad, so they rehired me as a freelancer. Since then I haven't received any salary yet," Danil said.
Timofey Moskovkin, a Russian now working in a cafe funded by the charity, said local people in Tumanyan, a town of about 1,000 people, had treated him warmly.
"In spite of the general context of what's happening in the world, and with Russia, people here are still very welcoming," he said. "I feel good here."
Ararat, a local Armenian man who declined to give his last name, said the arts venture had brought joy to a place that had seen factory closures, unemployment and emigration since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s.
One evening, he and his wife were walking past the factory. "We looked and saw the lights were on, it was beautiful, there was music and young people dancing," he said.
Writing by Mark Trevelyan Editing by Gareth Jones
Current Situation
Following the recent escalation of the decades-long conflict in the region, the Government of the Republic of Armenia reported that between 24 September and 4 October 2023, 100,632 refugees, including 30,000 children, arrived in the country. An average of 15,000 people arrived per day, with a peak of 40,000 refugees entering the country on 27 September 2023. So far, the Government has registered 98,000 refugees in government-run registration centres.
Overall, the number of refugees constitute almost 3 per cent of the entire Armenian population, i.e., 1 in 30 people, which adds to the 36,000 refugees, asylum-seekers and stateless people of all nationalities who were already present in the country.
According to the latest available data from the Government of the Republic of Armenia, many of the new arrivals are vulnerable, including older people, women and children, pregnant women, people living with disabilities and people chronic health conditions, as well as new-borns. 52 per cent are women and girls, 31 per cent are children and 18 per cent are older persons. About half of the refugee population are from the countryside.
The refugees are currently located in different regions across Armenia, with the highest numbers residing in Yerevan (38 per cent), Syunik (16 per cent), Kotayk (8 per cent) and Ararat (7 per cent). Most refugees settle in areas where they have family, access to services and feel supported.
Refugees arrived physically and psychologically exhausted. They were hungry, in need of emergency assistance including counselling, warm clothes and medicine. The Government of the Republic of Armenia is leading the response to ensure protection and life-saving needs of refugees as well as ensuring medium- and longer-term planning. The Deputy Prime Minister is coordinating a working group composed of the various Line Ministries including the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Territorial Administration, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, and Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
The host community response is characterized by a spirit of solidarity and unwavering generosity, with families and communities opening their doors to refugees. The local response, led by national and municipal authorities across the regions, has been equally remarkable, with volunteers, national and local nongovernmental organizations, and civil society actors coming together to support those in need.
At the same time, humanitarian partners including UN agencies, national and international NGOs and community-based organisations, under the overall leadership of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, scaled up their operations to complement the national response, through coordinated and inclusive interventions, to support urgent life-saving needs and the resilience of both the refugees and communities hosting them, with a particular focus on the approaching winter.
Refugee and Host Community Needs and Vulnerabilities
Refugees who have arrived in Armenia have acute protection and assistance needs due to their sudden displacement and prolonged isolation. This has had a profound impact not only on their ability to cope financially, but also emotionally. Most people arrived with very few belongings and require urgent emergency assistance, including food and water, blankets, bedding materials, medical assistance, mental health and psychosocial support, and shelter in the immediate term. With the upcoming winter, including possibly harsh weather conditions towards the end of 2023 and at the beginning of 2024, access to winter-specific assistance is particularly challenging for vulnerable groups, such as older persons, and persons with disabilities, as well as women and children. 52 percent of refugees are women and girls. In displacement situations, they may be exposed to heightened protection risks, such as gender-based violence (GBV), sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) and other forms of violence, trafficking, and labour exploitation. In addition, women often must care for children and other dependents on their own. Single mothers are particularly vulnerable to poverty. To ensure refugee women’s self-reliance, support in accessing the labour market is required. Additionally, basic assistance including protection services such as protection monitoring, child protection interventions, support to older persons and persons with disability, sexual and reproductive health services, are necessary.
Children constitute 31 percent of the total refugee population. Considering the nine-month closure of the Lachin corridor and the disrupted access to services during this period, children have had reduced access to food and medicine, and many arrived hungry, sick, and scared, having left their homes and communities very suddenly.
There are reports that their access to education during this period has also been interrupted, owing to limited access to food, electricity, water and other basic services at schools. There is a risk of disrupted access to immunization of young children during this period, which needs to be closely monitored and addressed urgently. Key needs include access to basic life-saving support and social services, including shelter, food, social protection, health, education and addressing their psychosocial needs through child-friendly spaces, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services, such as counselling, as well as prevention of any forms of violence, abuse and neglect. The best interests of the child should be a primary consideration in all actions affecting them.
Refugees are at risk of multidimensional poverty due to the many needs they are facing, especially those at heightened risk, including single women, female-headed households, children (including unaccompanied and separated children), persons with chronic health conditions as well as persons living with disabilities and HIV,
LGBTIQ+, and older persons. Thus, early identification of the most vulnerable and ensuring proper case management and support for inclusion in national systems from the onset is essential to restore refugees’ accessto basic services. They also require immediate livelihood recovery and access to toolsto support them towards self-reliance, access to decent work and enhanced economic security.
During government registration, initial intake assessments show that most refugees have concerns about access to safe and affordable housing, as well as their inability to pay rent and utility costs as a result of increased prices in Armenia. While government authorities have swiftly responded to provide shelter and housing to refugees in different regions, the number of refugees is expected to outnumber the available spaces in affordable/ social housing. The locations of some collective shelters may also pose challenges for access to employment and services. There is an urgent need to repair and rehabilitate existing social housing/ collective shelters and to identify additional, sustainable and affordable housing options in areas providing socio-economic inclusion prospects in close cooperation with municipalities. Targeted support to vulnerable populations to access services and appropriate accommodation is required. Host community members who have welcomed the refugees into their homes also need urgent support.
Refugees in general have access to the national health care system in Armenia. However, there is a need to bolster the health system to manage the sudden increase of health service recipients, including patients with specific needs and chronic conditions. Primary and secondary healthcare facilities, especially in rural areas are facing challenges to supply the necessary care, workforce, and medicines and provide specialized services. Specialized care is mostly concentrated in Yerevan, which will require putting in place adequate referral pathways and acute support to absorb the immediate influx of patients requiring care. The Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) needs of refugees are acute. The scale of the emergency and the added demand caused by the arrivalsrequire substantial scale up of services. It is essential to provide training on management of vicarious trauma or secondary traumatic stress to service providers. Access to quality maternal and child healthcare is of particular importance, including immunization of children. Other key areas of need include provision of specialized services for vulnerable children and caregivers who have suffered from trauma, as well as special care for children with chronic illness or with wounds that occurred during military hostilities, and who are now in post-operative recovery and living with disability.
Host communities / local population, friends and families across Armenia have welcomed and supported refugees, the majority of whom are in Yerevan, Syunik, and Kotayk regions. Their continued assistance to refugees will soon become a challenge for them as well as public authorities and national systems.
The rapid arrival of large numbers of refugees will strain existing social support services in some areas of the country. While refugees of working age will have greater levels of social mobility and move to different areas in search of sustainable livelihoods, it will be more difficult for vulnerable and less mobile groups of refugee households to meet their basic needs. In this context, there will be increased need to support the national authorities at all levels, including the municipal authorities throughout the country and especially in regions hosting large numbers of refugees to ensure optimal support and public services, parity and continuity in social protection schemes, and opportunities for livelihood and resilience.
In 2019, my wife June and I took a vacation to Armenia. It was my first visit and June’s second. Why it took so long for me to go to Armenia is a story for another day.
I spent several months planning our trip, speaking to many people who had been to Armenia and creating a full itinerary. Our itinerary included many of the “go-to” sites that anyone visiting Armenia would enjoy. There was Garni Temple and Geghard Monastery. We ventured to Khor Virap and bravely descended into St. Gregory’s pit. We walked around Yerevan and attended a dance recital at the Opera House. It is easy to fall in love with the country, its culture and its people.
As we traveled, it seemed that Mount Ararat followed us wherever we went – a marvelous sight to behold. We filled our two weeks with the many wonders of Armenia but left time to squeeze in a trip to Artsakh. At the time, I was unaware of Artsakh’s history or importance. I knew there was a recent struggle but did not know much of the details. I wanted to go, because my wife and I had donated to the construction of the Armenian Relief Society’s (ARS) Soseh kindergarten in Stepanakert. Why not take a day to see Artsakh and, at the same time, visit the school?
John and June Mangassarian at the iconic “We Are Our Mountains” monument in Artsakh
The journey to Artsakh, while picturesque, is not for the faint of heart. The winding mountainous roads were like something out of a James Bond movie. At one point of the six-hour drive, there was no shoulder on the side of the road, and the only thing between us and a fall down the mountain was a few blades of grass. There was, however, one stretch of road that was bordered on one side by a 12-foot earthen berm. The berm was our only view for several miles. When I asked our driver why someone would block the beautiful view, he simply responded, “Snipers.”
We passed a checkpoint where our passports were reviewed. I think it helped that one of the border guards was also named Mangassarian. Once in Artsakh, remnants of its struggle were evident – destroyed army vehicles, bullet-riddled walls, walls lined with license plates from destroyed automobiles and memorials to fallen heroes.
Stepanakert was in a reconstruction phase. There were new buildings, parks and hotels. We ate at a beautiful modern restaurant. Weary from the journey, I declined the temptation to walk around town and explore everything that made it special. I don’t regret much in my life, but in light of what has happened to this piece of Armenia, I will always regret not spending every hour taking it all in. How is it possible that we would never be allowed to return?
The ARS Soseh Kindergarten in Stepanakert
After breakfast the next morning, we visited the kindergarten, an absolutely magical place in which we were so proud to have played a small part. We were in awe of everything from the color-coded lockers and beds to the pint-sized sinks and toilets. The children, a hundred or more strong, put on a hantes just for us – singing, dancing and reciting – that brought us to tears. We had to remind ourselves that they were just kindergarteners. After an hour of delightful performances, we excused ourselves with sincere thanks for their hospitality to make the long journey back to Yerevan.
The kindergarteners performing their hantes for the Mangassarians
On our way out, we passed through the entrance foyer. The major wall of the foyer was adorned with several “giving trees” including the names of all the donors. We saw names of friends from New Jersey, the Providence ARS, my uncle Ardash Aykanian, and, at the bottom of one of the trees, our mothers’ names: Elizabeth Mangassarian and Eugenia Megerdichian. We had forgotten that we made our donation in their names. It was priceless knowing that our mothers would forever be part of Artsakh, if not in body but in spirit. Tragically, this will no longer be the case. The school and its “giving trees” no doubt will share the fate of our churches and monuments in Artsakh at the hands of evil.
The “Giving Trees” in the foyer of the kindergarten where the Mangassarians’ mothers are remembered
Who would have guessed that we will never be able to replay our one perfect day in this perfect place? I wish that we had stayed longer – much longer. We should have stayed until every dance was danced and every song was sung. We should have taken in everything and gathered more memories.
I have very few regrets in my life. Not staying in Artsakh for more than one day will always rank at the top.
While the last of Artsakh’s displaced residents arrived in Armenia on Monday, Azerbaijani soldiers opened fire at an Armenian military vehicle killing one solider and injuring two others.
Armenia’s Defense Ministry reported that Aram Kocharyan, a soldier of Armenia’s Armed Forces, was killed when the vehicle he was in was targeted. Kocharyan was part of a team conducting a routine food delivery mission for Armenian military positions near the Kut village in the Gegharkunik Province.
The Azerbaijani forces also targeted an ambulance “in gross violation of international humanitarian law,” the defense ministry added.
The injured soldiers were taken to a military hospital in the area and they are expected to recover.
At around 2:25 p.m. local time on Monday, Azerbaijani forces opened fire using small firearms, the defense ministry said.
16:24, 3 October 2023
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 3, ARMENPRESS. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, who is now visiting Armenia, has welcomed the ratification of the Rome Statute by the Armenian parliament.
Saluting the move in a post on X, Colonna said that Armenia is now becoming a participating country in the international criminal court. “The fight against impunity of crimes is one of the conditions for peace and stability,” she said.
BEIRUT (AP) — The swift fall of the Armenian-majority enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani troops and exodus of much of its population has stunned the large Armenian diaspora around the world. Traumatized by genocide a century ago, they now fear the erasure of what they consider a central and beloved part of their historic homeland.
The separatist ethnic Armenian government in Nagorno-Karabakh on Thursday announced that it was dissolving and that the unrecognized republic will cease to exist by year’s end – a seeming death knell for its 30-year de-facto independence.
Azerbaijan, which routed the region’s Armenian forces in a lightning offensive last week, has pledged to respect the rights of the territory’s Armenian community. But by Thursday morning, 74,400 people – over 60% of Nagorno-Karabakh’s population — had fled to Armenia, and the influx continues, according to Armenian officials.
Many in Armenia and the diaspora fear a centuries-long community in the territory they call Artsakh will disappear in what they call a new wave of ethnic cleansing. They accuse European countries, Russia and the United States – and the government of Armenia itself – of failing to protect ethnic Armenians during months of blockade of the territory by Azerbaijan’s military and in the lightning blitz earlier this month that defeated separatist forces.
Armenians say the loss is a historic blow. Outside the modern country of Armenia itself, the mountainous land was one of the only surviving parts of a heartland that centuries ago stretched across what is now eastern Turkey, into the Caucasus region and western Iran.
Many in the diaspora had pinned dreams on it gaining independence or being joined to Armenia.
Nagorno-Karabakh was “a page of hope in Armenian history,” Narod Seroujian, a Lebanese-Armenian university instructor in Beirut, said Thursday.
“It showed us that there is hope to gain back a land that is rightfully ours … For the diaspora, Nagorno-Karabakh was already part of Armenia.”
Hundreds of Lebanese Armenians on Thursday protested outside the Azerbajani Embassy in Beirut. They waved flags of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh and burned pictures of the Azerbaijani and Turkish presidents. Riot police lobbed tear gas when they threw firecrackers at the embassy.
Ethnic Armenians have communities around Europe and the Middle East and in the United States. Lebanon is home to one of the largest, with an estimated 120,000 of Armenian origin, 4% of the population.
Most are descendants of those who fled the 1915 campaign by Ottoman Turks in which some 1.5 million Armenians died in massacres, deportations and forced marches. The atrocities, which emptied many ethnic Armenian areas in eastern Turkey, are widely viewed by historians as genocide. Turkey rejects the description of genocide, saying the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest during World War I.
In Bourj Hammoud, the main Armenian district in the capital Beirut, memories are still raw, with anti-Turkey graffiti common on the walls. The red-blue-and-orange Armenian flag flies from many buildings.
“This is the last migration for Armenians,” said Harout Bshidikian, 55, sitting in front of an Armenian flag in a Bourj Hamoud cafe. “There is no other place left for us to migrate from.”
Azerbaijan says it is reuniting its territory, pointing out that even Armenia’s prime minister recognized that Nagorno-Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan. Though its population has been predominantly ethnic Armenian Christians, Turkish Muslim Azeris also have communities and cultural ties to the territory as well, particularly the city of Shusha, famed as a cradle of Azeri poetry.
Nagorno-Karabakh came under control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian military in separatist fighting that ended in 1994. Azerbaijan took parts of the area in a 2020 war. Now after this month’s defeat, separatist authorities surrendered their weapons and are holding talks with Azerbaijan on reintegration of the territory into Azerbaijan.
Thomas de Waal, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Europe think tank, said Nagorno-Karabakh had become “a kind of new cause” for an Armenian diaspora whose forebearers had suffered the genocide.
“It was a kind of new Armenian state, new Armenian land being born, which they projected lots of hopes on. Very unrealistic hopes, I would say,” he said, adding that it encouraged Karabakh Armenians to hold out against Azerbaijan despite the lack of international recognition for their separatist government.
Armenians see the territory as a cradle of their culture, with monasteries dating back more than a millennium.
“Artsakh or Nagorno-Karabakh has been a land for Armenians for hundreds of years,” said Lebanese legislator Hagop Pakradounian, head of Lebanon’s largest Armenian group, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. “The people of Artsakh are being subjected to a new genocide, the first genocide in the 21st Century.”
The fall of Nagorno-Karabakh is not just a reminder of the genocide, “it’s reliving it,” said Diran Guiliguian, an Armenian activist who is based in Madrid but holds Armenian, Lebanese and French citizenship.
He said his grandmother used to tell him stories of how she fled in 1915. The genocide “is actually not a thing of the past. It’s not a thing that is a century old. It’s actually still the case,” he said.
Seroujian, the instructor in Beirut, said her great-grandparents were genocide survivors, and that stories of the atrocities and dispersal were talked about at home, school and in the community as she grew up, as was the cause of Nagorno-Karabakh.
She visited the territory several times, most recently in 2017. “We’ve grown with these ideas, whether they were romantic or not, of the country. We’ve grown to love it even when we didn’t see it,” she said. “I never thought about it as something separate” from Armenia the country.
A diaspora group called Europeans for Artsakh plans a rally in Brussels next week in front of European Union buildings to denounce what they say are ethnic cleansing and human rights abuses by Azerbaijan and to call for EU sanctions on Azerbaijani officials. The rally is timed ahead of a summit of European leaders in Spain on Oct. 5, where the Armenian prime minister and Azerbaijani president are scheduled to hold talks mediated by the French president, German chancellor and European Council president.
In the United States, the Armenian community in the Los Angeles area – one of the world’s largest – has staged several protests trying to draw attention to the situation. On Sept. 19, they used a trailer truck to block a major freeway for several hours, causing major traffic jams.
Kim Kardashian, perhaps the most well known Armenian-American today, went on social media to urge President Joe Biden “to Stop Another Armenian Genocide.”
Several groups in the diaspora are collecting money for Karabakh Armenians fleeing their home. But Seroujian said many feel helpless.
“There are moments where personally, the family, or among friends we just feel hopeless,” she said. “And when we talk to each other we sort of lose our minds.
BEIRUT — Hundreds of Lebanese Armenians converged on Thursday outside the Azerbaijani embassy in Lebanon to protest the lighting military operation last week that resulted in Azerbaijan recapturing Nagorno-Karabakh from ethnic Armenians.
The protests quickly turned violent, with protesters hurling stones and fireworks at anti-riot police while attempting to storm the embassy in Ain Aar, east of Beirut. The security forces responded by firing tear gas to disperse the crowd. More than 20 protesters were injured in the melee, according to the official National News Agency (NNA).
Videos circulating online showed protesters burning photos of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyib Erdogan, who threw his support behind last week’s offensive.
Tashnag, an official Armenian political party in Lebanon, had called for Thursday’s protest. Lebanon is home to one of the largest Armenian populations outside Armenia. In May 2000, it became the first Arab country to recognize the Armenian genocide — the massacre of more than 1.5 million ethnic Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks in the early 20th century. The Armenians in Lebanon are estimated to number between 120,000 and 150,000.
#Lebanon
A #protest led by the Lebanese #Armenian community unfolded at the #Azerbaijani embassy in Ain Aar on Thursday. Tensions escalated rapidly, resulting in dozens of #Armenians being injured in clashes with #embassy_security.
By Melissa Manouchakian et Aubin Eymard pic.twitter.com/Z8TV96T7RR— This is Beirut (@ThisIsBeirut_) September 28, 2023
Tashnag leader Hagop Pakradounian condemned the Azerbaijani offensive against Artsakh, what Armenians call Nagorno-Karabakh, accusing Azerbaijan and Turkey of carrying out a new “genocide” against the Armenian people.
“Today we were defeated in Artsakh, but we were not defeated as a people,” the NNA quoted Pakradounian as saying in a speech during the protest. “We were not defeated as an Armenian nation.”
Last Tuesday, Azerbaijan launched what it described as an “anti-terror” operation against Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh. One day after the offensive began, a Russian-mediated cease-fire was announced, whereby Azerbaijan would take control of the enclave, and the Armenian separatists would surrender their weapons.
At least 200 people were killed in the fighting, and more than 88,000 people — 70% of Nagorno-Karabakh’s estimated population of 120,000 — have since fled the territory, reported UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, on Friday.
Nagorno-Karabakh, a landlocked mountainous region, is predominantly inhabited by ethnic Armenians but is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. Armenians took control of the territory following a bloody war against Azerbaijan in the 1990s and established a separatist government in the enclave in 1994.
On Thursday, the pro-Armenian separatist government of the breakaway region announced its own dissolution. A decree issued by the region’s president, Samvel Shahramanyan, said the self-declared Republic of Artsakh would cease to exist by Jan. 1, 2024.
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/09/armenians-lebanon-protest-azerbaijans-offensive-nagorno-karabakh#ixzz8Ep4I9Qrd
More than 70% of Nagorno-Karabakh’s original population has fled to Armenia as the region’s separatist government said it will dissolve itself and the unrecognized republic inside Azerbaijan will cease to exist by year’s end after a three-decade bid for independence.
By Friday morning 84,770 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh, according to Armenian officials, continuing a mass exodus from the region of ethnic Armenians that began Sunday. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began.
The moves came after Azerbaijan carried out a lightning offensive last week to reclaim full control over the breakaway region and demanded that Armenian troops in Nagorno-Karabakh disarm and the separatist government disband.
20 DEAD IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH IN EXPLOSION AT GAS STATION CROWDED WITH RESIDENTS FLEEING TO ARMENIA
A decree signed by the region’s separatist President Samvel Shakhramanyan cited a Sept. 20 agreement to end the fighting under which Azerbaijan will allow the “free, voluntary and unhindered movement” of Nagorno-Karabakh residents to Armenia.
Some of those who fled the regional capital of Stepanakert said they had no hope for the future.
“I left Stepanakert having a slight hope that maybe something will change and I will come back soon, and these hopes are ruined after reading about the dissolution of our government,” 21-year-old student Ani Abaghyan told The Associated Press on Thursday.
During the three decades of conflict in the region, Azerbaijan and separatists inside Nagorno-Karabakh, alongside allies in Armenia, have accused the other of targeted attacks, massacres and other atrocities, leaving people on both sides deeply suspicious and fearful.
While Azerbaijan has pledged to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians in the region, most are now fleeing as they do not believe the Azerbaijani authorities will treat them fairly and humanely or guarantee them their language, religion and culture.
After six years of separatist fighting ended in 1994 following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Nagorno-Karabakh came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces, backed by Armenia. Then, during a six-week war in 2020, Azerbaijan took back parts of the region in the south Caucasus Mountains along with surrounding territory that Armenian forces had claimed earlier.
Nagorno-Karabakh was internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan’s sovereign territory.
THOUSANDS OF ARMENIANS FLEE NAGORNO-KARABAKH AS AZERBAIJAN RECLAIMS SEPARATIST REGION
In December, Azerbaijan blockaded the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, alleging the Armenian government was using it for illicit weapons shipments to the region’s separatist forces.
Armenia alleged the closure denied basic food and fuel supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan rejected the accusation, arguing that the region could receive supplies through the Azerbaijani city of Aghdam — a solution long resisted by Nagorno-Karabakh authorities, who called it a strategy for Azerbaijan to gain control of the region.
On Monday night, a fuel reservoir exploded at a gas station where people lined up for gas to fill their cars to flee to Armenia. At least 68 people were killed and nearly 300 injured, with over 100 others still considered missing after the blast, which exacerbated fuel shortages that were already dire after the blockade.
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On Thursday, Azerbaijani authorities charged Ruben Vardanyan, the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government, with financing terrorism, creating illegal armed formations and illegally crossing a state border. A day earlier, he was detained by Azerbaijani border guards as he was trying to leave Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia along with tens of thousands of others.
Vardanyan, a billionaire who made his fortune in Russia, was placed in pretrial detention for at least four months and faces up to 14 years in prison. His arrest appeared to indicate Azerbaijan’s intent to quickly enforce its grip on the region.
Another top separatist figure, Nagorno-Karabakh’s former foreign minister and now presidential adviser David Babayan, said Thursday he will surrender to Azerbaijani authorities who ordered him to face a probe in Baku.
19:34,
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) in the South Caucasus region to coordinate the U.S. humanitarian response, USAID Administrator Samantha Power said in a statement after traveling to Armenia.
“This week, I traveled to Armenia to hear directly from the people fleeing their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh in the wake of Azerbaijan’s September 19-20 attacks. The United States is deeply concerned about the safety of vulnerable populations in Nagorno-Karabakh and the more than 50,000 people who have fled to Armenia. We are grateful to the Government of Armenia for welcoming new arrivals and helping them find shelter and to humanitarian organizations working to address acute needs.
“Today, I am announcing that the U.S. Agency for International Development has deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) in the South Caucasus region to coordinate the U.S. humanitarian response. The DART will assess the situation, identify priority needs to scale up assistance, and work with partners to provide urgently needed aid.
“Last week’s unacceptable military operation has made an already dire humanitarian situation even worse. For nine months, Azerbaijan blocked the Lachin Corridor – shutting down a vital lifeline that connects the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh with food, medicine, fuel, and commercial supplies which is creating dire shortages.
“The Lachin Corridor must remain fully and permanently open so that civilians can leave and return freely, communities can access food, medicine, and other essential supplies, and humanitarian organizations can see and meet needs on the ground. Azerbaijan must protect civilians, uphold its obligations to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all individuals in its country, and ensure its forces comply with international humanitarian law.
“Given the scale of the needs, the United States announced $11.5 million in humanitarian assistance earlier this week to support communities across the South Caucasus who are affected by the ongoing crisis. This is in addition to the more than $23 million the United States has provided in humanitarian assistance since 2020 in response to the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. These funds will be used to provide everything from food to psychosocial support to help address trauma caused by the violence and mass displacement,” Power said in the statement.