Reconquest
Almost 100,000 refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh in Armenia
Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh and European Union observers drive their cars past a checkpoint on the road from Nagorno-Karabakh to Goris. photo
© Vasily Krestyaninov/AP/dpa
Nagorno-Karabakh is now completely part of Azerbaijan again. Since the reconquest, many people have fled the region to Armenia. It is said in Yerevan that they want to “take care of the needs of the newcomers.”
From the territory conquered by Azerbaijan In Nagorno-Karabakh, almost 100,000 Armenians have now fled to the motherland of Armenia. As of Friday, 97,700 people had crossed the border into Armenia, Yerevan government spokeswoman Naseli Bagdasaryan said, according to local media.
The population of Nagorno-Karabakh was recently estimated at only 100,000 to 120,000 people. It is feared that the mass exodus out of fear of the Azerbaijanis will draw a line under many centuries of Armenian life in the region.
“One more day and the electricity will dry up,” said Armenian Minister of Regional Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan. “Then all that remains is to take care of the needs of the newcomers.”
Nagorno-Karabakh is located on the territory of Azerbaijan. Last week, the leadership in Baku forced the self-defense forces in the area, which had been cordoned off for months, to surrender with violent attacks. After that, the ban on Armenia was lifted, but only for Karabakh Armenians to leave the country.