According to the Armenian government, more than 50,000 people have now fled from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. The conflict region’s former head of government, Vardanyan, was arrested by Azerbaijani authorities.
More than 50,000 people have now fled to Armenia from the Caucasus conflict region of Nagorno-Karabakh. This was announced by the press secretary of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Naseli Bagdasaryan. A reception camp has been set up in the town of Kornidzor.
The Armenian government has promised to provide accommodation for all refugees. Last week, Azerbaijan used brief, violent attacks to force the government of the internationally unrecognized Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) to give up and conquer the region. Since then, there has been a mass exodus of the local population. Satellite images show long queues of cars.
Kornidzor is located in Armenia near the Lachin corridor, which connects the Armenian heartland with Nagorno-Karabakh, which is located on Azerbaijani territory but has so far been inhabited by a majority of Armenians. Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan under international law and around 120,000 Armenians live there. The area has been contested for decades between the ex-Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia. Armenians there fear violence and persecution after the conquest by Azerbaijan.
Former head of government arrested
Azerbaijani forces arrested Nagorno-Karabakh’s former head of government, Ruben Vardanyan, on the border with Armenia. Azerbaijan’s border guards said Vardanyan was taken to the capital Baku, where the authorities decided on further action against him.
Accordingly, Vardanyan is accused of illegal entry into Azerbaijan. It is unknown whether there are further allegations against the 55-year-old. Vardanyan’s wife, Weronika Sonabend, confirmed the arrest. Her husband was captured by the Azerbaijani authorities while trying to travel to Armenia, she wrote on her husband’s Telegram channel.
Vardanyan, who became a billionaire as a businessman in Russia, moved to Nagorno-Karabakh last fall and held the post of head of government there between November 2022 and February 2023.
Many dead and injured after explosion
The Armenians’ escape was also overshadowed by the explosion of a fuel depot. At least 68 people died and 290 were injured. The explosion hit people on Monday evening who wanted to refuel their cars to flee from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. According to information from Armenia’s capital Yerevan, 237 injured people have now been brought to Armenia, some by helicopter and some by ambulance.
Government spokeswoman Bagdasarjan emphasized that these were both victims of the explosion and victims of the Azerbaijani attack. According to them, another 80 injured people will be brought to Armenia during the day. Azerbaijan had also offered official assistance to those injured in the fuel depot explosion, with no response from Nagorno-Karabakh.
At the same time, Baku announced the amount of its own losses in the military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh. Accordingly, 192 Azerbaijani soldiers died and another 511 were injured.
Baerbock calls for international observers
Due to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the conflict region, international pressure on Baku is growing. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) has called on Azerbaijan to allow international observers into Nagorno-Karabakh. “We now need transparency and the eyes and ears of the international community on site.”
Baerbock announced that he would increase funding for the International Committee of the Red Cross from two to five million euros.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also called on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to allow an international observer mission in a phone call on Tuesday. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said afterwards that Aliyev would accept a mission.