The final bus carrying ethnic Armenians has left Nagorno-Karabakh, bringing an finish to a rare exodus of greater than 100,000 individuals since management of the area was retaken by Azerbaijan.
Fifteen passengers with severe diseases and mobility issues have been aboard the bus because it left the breakaway enclave, Gegham Stepanyan, Nagorno-Karabakh’s human rights ombudsman, mentioned.
Armenian authorities mentioned that 100,514 – or 85 p.c of the residents – have crossed into Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh, which is recognised internationally as being a part of Azerbaijan however has operated as a de facto state for a number of many years following a conflict within the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Because the final buses left, movies emerged exhibiting eerily abandoned streets inside the principle metropolis of Stepanakert, or Khankendi as it’s recognized in Azerbaijan.
Empty prams, child cots, youngsters’s scooters, and chairs are proven scattered throughout the principle avenue, the place tens of 1000’s of individuals had gathered ready for buses and automobiles. Azerbaijani police checkpoints have been arrange on town’s edges and Russian peacekeeping troops are nonetheless manning their bases on the outskirts.
Former residents who’ve fled in current days informed The Impartial it was a “ghost city”.
“We don’t know what’s going to occur now,” mentioned Lusine Barkhudaryan, a former member of the self-declared authorities who reached the Armenian border city of Goris. She mentioned she solely knew a handful of people that had stayed behind, largely the aged as they’d nowhere to go.
“We will’t return. All of the issues we created for many years have gone.”
1000’s have been killed in additional than 30 years of bloody battle, and seeing households on each side displaced.
Ten months in the past, Baku imposed a crippling siege on the enclave, proscribing entry to meals, gasoline and electrical energy. Then, on 19 September, Azerbaijan forces launched a 24-hour army blitz. Outgunned, outnumbered and weakened by the blockade the separatist forces, capitulated and agreed to dissolve their authorities by yr’s finish.
Baku has pledged to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh as it’s reintegrated into Azerbaijan. However ethnic Individuals have fled, fearing persecution together with dropping the liberty to make use of their language and to apply their faith and cultural customs.
The arrest of a number of Karabakh Armenian political and safety officers by Azerbaijan – together with one of many former prime ministers, Ruben Vardanyan, as he tried to cross into Armenia – solely elevated the panic.
Mr Vardanyan’s household launched an announcement on Monday saying they haven’t been in a position to talk with him since his arrest. They referred to as on the worldwide neighborhood to assist.
“We’re involved about his well being and arbitrary remedy and haven’t been in a position to talk with him since his seize,” the assertion learn.
“We concern for his wellbeing and danger to his life.“
Azerbaijan prosecutors have additionally issued an arrest warrant for former Nagorno-Karabakh chief Arayik Harutyunyan, who led the area earlier than stepping down originally of September.
In a speech on Monday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev mentioned his nation had “put an finish to the battle.”
”We protected our dignity, we restored justice and worldwide legislation,” he added.
He mentioned “our agenda is peace within the Caucasus, peace within the area, cooperation, shared advantages, and at this time, we exhibit that.”
The Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan has mentioned the exodus of ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh quantities to “a direct act of ethnic cleaning and depriving individuals of their motherland.”
On Thursday, Armenia’s envoy to the EU urged the bloc to sanction Azerbaijan for its operation within the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave and warned that Baku may quickly assault Armenia itself until the West takes agency motion.
Tigran Balayan listed doable measures similar to a value cap on Azerbaijani oil and gasoline and the suspension of EU talks on nearer relations with Baku. He additionally urged the West to ship “daring” safety help to Armenia, In an interview with Reuters.
“It isn’t solely the opinion of the Armenian authorities, but in addition of many specialists – additionally a number of the EU member states – that an assault on Armenia correct is imminent,” Mr Balayan mentioned.
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