According to a human rights activist from the separatist camp, at least 200 people were killed in Azerbaijan’s military offensive in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Ten of them were civilians, half of them children, it said on Wednesday. In addition, more than 400 people were injured. The information could not be independently confirmed.
Meanwhile, evacuation measures have begun. The residents of the South Caucasus region should now be brought to safety. Russian soldiers stationed on site have so far brought around 5,000 Karabakh Armenians out of particularly dangerous places in the besieged region, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Thursday. The human rights commissioner for the internationally unrecognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), Gegam Stepanyan, had previously spoken of the evacuation of several towns. After the announcement of a ceasefire, thousands of people rushed to the airport in the regional capital Stepanakert, where Russian peacekeepers are stationed, on Wednesday.
The widespread attack by Azerbaijan forced the Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh to give up their armed resistance. They agreed to an agreement that would place the region under Baku’s control. Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev said in a televised address that Azerbaijan had regained full control over Nagorno-Karabakh. He now wants to integrate the region’s population. “They are our citizens,” Aliyev said. He has nothing against them, only against their “criminal” separatist leaders.
Armenian forces have begun disarming and withdrawing from Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia denies having weapons and soldiers in Nagorno-Karabakh. After the major offensive, Aliyev promised that the region should now become a “paradise”.
The two ex-Soviet republics have been fighting over the region for years
Although Nagorno-Karabakh is located on Azerbaijani territory, the majority of the population is Armenian. The two warring ex-Soviet republics have been fighting over the region for years. On Tuesday morning, authoritarian Azerbaijan launched a new military operation to conquer Nagorno-Karabakh, which ended just a day later with the surrender of the Karabakh Armenians. Many now fear being driven from their homeland or falling under Azerbaijani rule.
Armenians are predominantly Christians, Azerbaijanis are predominantly Muslim. Ethnic conflicts have occurred between the two groups in the past. It is currently unclear how many Armenians remain in their homeland under Azerbaijani rule.
After the forced abandonment of the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan came under pressure. Thousands of people took to the streets in the Armenian capital Yerevan on Wednesday, demanding his resignation. The protesters accuse Pashinyan of doing nothing to support Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.