Nagorno-Karabakh
Report: Nagorno-Karabakh combat units will be disbanded
Talks between representatives of the Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Azerbaijani government and the Russian peacekeeping contingent. photo
© Uncredited/AP/dpa
After Azerbaijan’s military operation to conquer Nagorno-Karabakh, the search for the dead and missing from the fighting continues. Meanwhile, the terms of the agreed ceasefire should be implemented.
After their defeat against the Azerbaijani military, the army of the region, which is predominantly inhabited by Armenians Nagorno-Karabakh will be dissolved. This is happening in accordance with Wednesday’s ceasefire agreement, as the Armenian news agency Armenpress quoted the pro-Armenian authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh as saying. On Friday, the fighters of the internationally unrecognized republic had already started handing over their weapons.
Last Tuesday, authoritarian-run Azerbaijan launched a military operation to conquer Nagorno-Karabakh. Just a day later, the defeated Karabakh Armenians surrendered. According to Armenian sources, more than 200 people died during the brief fighting and more than 400 others were injured.
The search for the dead and missing from the fighting continued over the weekend. Wounded and sick people are being taken to medical facilities in Armenia, Armenpress reported. The International Red Cross and Russian soldiers stationed on site are supposed to accompany the transports.
Nagorno-Karabakh is located on Azerbaijani territory, but is predominantly inhabited by Armenians and has long been contested between the two ex-Soviet republics. The tens of thousands of Armenian civilians in the region now fear being displaced or oppressed by the new Azerbaijani rulers. Many Armenians accuse their traditional protective power, Russia, which has also stationed its own soldiers on site, of having abandoned them.