Armenia has stated that nearly half of the ethnic Armenian citizens of Nagorno-Karabakh are fleeing in fear of reprisals from Azerbaijan after a recent military campaign led to Azerbaijan regaining control of the mountainous region. According to reports, almost all ethnic Armenians in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region are leaving their homes and seeking refuge in Armenia. A week ago, after a brief but intense war, Azerbaijan established full control over Nagorno-Karabakh, prompting ethnic Armenians to begin evacuating the region.
Armenia’s Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, has announced that the number of people entering Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh has exceeded one million over the past week. The total population of Nagorno-Karabakh is estimated to be around 120,000, with the majority being of Armenian descent. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has supported this statement, emphasizing that nearly one million people have fled the Karabakh region, and these displaced individuals are in urgent need of food and shelter.
Nagorno-Karabakh, a landlocked region surrounded by Azerbaijan, is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, although a significant portion of its population is of Armenian origin. The people in this region have resisted Azerbaijani sovereignty for over three decades, leading to tensions and conflicts in the area.
Last week, Azerbaijan launched a military campaign aimed at permanently resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and it has now initiated a military operation with the goal of achieving lasting peace in the region. The campaign, which lasted only 24 hours until September 20, resulted in the Azerbaijani military capturing Nagorno-Karabakh and forcing separatist Armenian groups to surrender their weapons.
