After the intense exodus from the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, the flow of Armenians stopped. Only officials and a few citizens remain in the territory now administered by Azerbaijan. At the same time, Azerbaijani authorities continue to persecute separatist leaders while a UN mission arrived in the territory for the first time in 30 years. For his part, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev affirmed that the South Caucasus region can “enter an era of peace.”
One last bus to mark the end of the mass exodus of Armenians from Nagorno Karabakh. The vehicle, which left the region on Monday, October 2, was carrying 15 passengers with serious illnesses and mobility problems.
In total, there are about 100,000 Armenians from Nagorno Karabakh who fled to Armenia in the last nine days, a figure that corresponds to more than 80% of the 120,000 residents of the territory. Only officials and a group of citizens remain, according to Yerevan.
“100,520 forcibly displaced people from Nagorno Karabakh arrived in Armenia. As you can see, the number has practically not changed since yesterday, which means that the flow of people has mostly stopped and only officials and a limited number of the population remain there,” said Nazeli Baghdasarián, spokesperson for Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinián.
“We also inform that the Government continues to focus on the issue of citizens who want to move to Armenia” from Nagorno Karabakh, he added.
Armenia announced assistance measures to deal with refugee arrivals
Although Baku pledged to respect the rights of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians, most of them fled the region, fearing reprisals from Azerbaijani authorities. According to journalists from the AP agency, the streets of the regional capital Stepanakert – which Azerbaijanis call Khankendi – look empty.
Nagorno Karabakh, a narrow and mountainous enclave of some 4,400 square kilometers and populated by Armenians, has been under the control of Azerbaijan since September 20, a day after the neighboring country launched a military operation to control this internationally recognized territory as part from Azerbaijan. The dissolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, announced on Thursday, September 28, but with a deadline until the end of the year, marked Baku’s total victory in the area.
Of the total number of refugees who arrived in Armenia, almost 90,000 were registered at the government humanitarian center, said Nazeli Baghdasarián. 54% of them had to go to accommodation provided by the State.
To deal with these numerous arrivals, the Government of Armenia announced on Sunday the implementation of an assistance program for refugees who do not have a place to live in Armenia.
Pashinián announced, through his Facebook page, that each displaced person in the aforementioned situation will receive a monthly aid of 40,000 drams, equivalent to about 100 dollars, to cover their accommodation costs.
With people arrested, Azerbaijan expands its control over Nagorno-Karabakh
While Armenia focuses on aid to the displaced, Azerbaijan is expanding its control over the region, arresting several former members of the separatist government and encouraging the return of Azerbaijanis who fled amid the separatist conflict that began three decades ago.
Thus, on Sunday, the Azerbaijani authorities, through the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General, Kiamran Aliyev, issued arrest warrants for more than 300 Armenians accused of crimes committed since the beginning of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
“We have collected evidence of all these crimes. 300 criminal cases have been initiated, and international search and arrest warrants have been issued against more than 300 accused in absentia,” Aliyev said.
Among the people sought by Azerbaijani justice are the former president of the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Araik Arutiunián, and the former Minister of Defense, Dzhal Arutiunián.
Azerbaijan’s expansion of control over Nagorno-Karabakh unfolds as a United Nations mission arrived in the territory on Sunday, for the first time in 30 years. The mission’s main objective is to provide humanitarian assistance to populations affected by the Azerbaijani offensive, which left some 600 dead, although its arrival was described by local officials as “late” and a mere formality.
“I did the volunteer work. I put the people who were sheltered in the basements, even people who were mentally ill and did not understand what was happening, on buses with my own hands and we took them out of Stepanakert,” he told local media News. .am Hunan Tadevosyan, spokesman for Nagorno-Karabakh’s emergency services, who stressed that the number of civilians remaining in the regional capital could be “counted on one hand.”
For Ilham Aliyev, the South Caucasus can “enter an era of peace”
In parallel, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated on Monday that the victory in Nagorno Karabakh means that the South Caucasus region can “enter an era of peace.” “It is our opinion. Cooperation, mutually beneficial projects, is what we exhibit today,” said the president.
“We ended the conflict. And as a result of the resolution of the conflict we have preserved our dignity and restored international law,” Aliyev added.
According to the head of state, Azerbaijan acted within the framework of the “right of self-defense”, guaranteed by the United Nations Charter and recalling that the UN adopted four resolutions demanding the complete and immediate withdrawal of the Armenian Armed Forces from the territory Azerbaijani.
“These resolutions remained on paper for 27 years. We, paying the price of the lives of our martyrs, have achieved their fulfillment,” Aliyev added.
However, experts in the region doubt President Aliyev’s peace promise. They fear that Azerbaijan could use its military advantage over Armenia to conquer other territories, particularly in southern Armenia, to create territorial continuity between Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhchivan, an autonomous republic located between Armenia, Iran and Turkey, and populated mostly Azerbaijanis.
With AFP, EFE and AP
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