Influx of Refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh Continues as Azerbaijan Searches for War Crime Suspects

The influx of tens of thousands of refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh continues, a week after the lightning attack carried out by Azerbaijan in this separatist region in the Caucasus, the majority of whose residents are Armenians. The huge influx of refugees led to huge traffic jams on the only road linking the region’s “capital”, Stepanakert, to Armenia. While Azerbaijan confirmed that its border guards are searching for people suspected of committing “war crimes” among the refugees.

Published on: 09/27/2023 – 09:37

4 minutes

Yerevyan announced on Wednesday that 42,500 refugees have so far arrived in Armenia from… Nagorni KarabakhA week after the lightning attack carried out by Azerbaijan in this separatist region.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced last week that his country, with a population of 2.9 million people, is preparing to receive 40,000 refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan pledged to allow separatists who surrender their weapons to go to Armenia, and on Sunday opened the only road linking Nagorno-Karabakh to this country, four days after the separatists surrendered and reached a ceasefire agreement that put the region under Baku’s control.

The flow of cars carrying families and property continues to the last Azerbaijani checkpoint before entering Armenian territory through the Lachin crossing.

Traffic jam and Azerbaijani inspection

The huge influx of refugees led to huge traffic jams on the only road linking the region’s “capital”, Stepanakert, to Armenia.

Many say that the journey from Stepanakert to the border, which is 80 kilometers away from the “capital” of Nagorno-Karabakh, took them 24 hours, without food and sometimes even without water, especially since the separatist region, which has been under an Azerbaijani siege for months, lacks various types of basic goods. .

An Azerbaijani government source told Agence France-Presse on Tuesday that Azerbaijani border guards are searching for people suspected of committing “war crimes” among the refugees leaving Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia.

Armenia and Azerbaijan, the two former Soviet republics, faced off militarily in Nagorno-Karabakh in the period from 1988 to 1994 (30,000 dead) and in the fall of 2020 (6,500 dead).

According to the latest toll issued by Armenian separatists, the Azerbaijani military operation that ended last Wednesday afternoon left at least 200 people dead. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev pledged on Monday that the rights of Armenians in this enclave occupied by his army would be “guaranteed.”

Meeting in Brussels

In Brussels, senior diplomatic officials representing France, Germany, Azerbaijan and Armenia met on Tuesday.

The talks allowed for “intensive discussions among participants about the importance of a possible meeting of leaders” of Armenia and Azerbaijan on the sidelines of an informal European summit in Granada scheduled for October 5, a meeting that has been planned for a long time and has not been cancelled.

On Wednesday, Berlin called on Baku to allow international observers into Nagorno-Karabakh.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement, “We are working with all our might with our partners to send observers as quickly as possible. Allowing the sending of international observers will constitute a sign of confidence that Azerbaijan is serious about its commitment to the security and well-being of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.”

She stressed that the residents of this region have the right to live in peace in their homes, noting that Germany will increase its humanitarian aid from two million euros to five million through the International Committee of the Red Cross.

In turn, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Tuesday called on Azerbaijan to respect its pledge to protect Nagorno-Karabakh civilians and provide humanitarian aid to the region, in a telephone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that Blinken “stressed the urgent necessity of putting an end to the fighting, ensuring unconditional protection and freedom of movement for civilians, and ensuring unimpeded humanitarian access to Nagorno-Karabakh.”

For its part, France called on Tuesday for “international diplomatic action” in the face of Russia’s “abandonment of Armenia.”

Paris considered that the “massive” exodus of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh was occurring “in the sight of a complicit Russia,” which is deploying a peacekeeping force in the region.

France 24/AFP

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2023-09-27 07:37:50