Russian soldiers are leaving the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. They had been there to keep the peace after a war in 2020. Officials from both countries announced this on Wednesday.
During a phone call with reporters, a spokesperson for the Russian government, Dmitry Peskov, said that they are pulling out their troops, but he didn’t share more information. Hikmet Hajiyev, who is in charge of foreign policy for Azerbaijan’s president, also said that both countries agreed to the withdrawal.
Hajiyev did not explain why the forces were being taken out, but it seemed like they weren’t needed anymore after Azerbaijan got full control of the area last year.
The area called Karabakh was controlled by Armenian people, but there was a war in 2020 and Azerbaijan got back some of the land.
The war ended with a deal made by Russia that called for 2,000 peacekeeping troops to be placed in the parts of Karabakh still held by Armenians. The forces had to make sure that the only road connecting Karabakh with Armenia was open for people to use.
Azerbaijan started to block the road at the end of 2022 because they believed Armenians were using it to transport weapons and smuggle minerals. The Russian forces did not get involved.
After many months of not having enough food and medicine in Karabakh because of the blockade, Azerbaijan quickly attacked in September 2023. This made the Karabakh Armenian leaders give up after just one day of talking, with help from Russian forces.
Almost all of the 50,000 Armenian people who live in Karabakh left the area in just a few days.
Tag: Karabakh
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Russia starts removing its peacekeeping personnel from Karabakh
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Nagorno-Karabakh to cease exist after Azerbaijan’s victory in 2024
From next year, the self-declared republic of Nagorno-Karabakh will no longer exist. This is because the president made a decision to shut down all government offices after being defeated by Azerbaijan.
Last week, the Azerbaijani win caused a large number of Armenian people living in Nagorno-Karabakh to leave, and it also brought an end to many years of fighting.
President Samvel Shahramanyan’s order requires all institutions and organizations in the Republic of Artsakh, which is not recognized internationally, to shut down by the beginning of next year.
The Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) has officially stopped existing, according to a statement shared on Facebook by the Artsakh government.
Shahramanyan said the decision was made because the military and political situation is currently very difficult.
Azerbaijan’s campaign went on for 24 hours, until both sides agreed to a ceasefire arranged by Russia. As part of the ceasefire, Karabakh’s armed forces were disbanded. However, the Azerbaijani president strongly emphasized that the government of Artsakh should also disband itself. The president warned that if they did not comply, the attack would persist until it was completely finished.
The decree said that Azerbaijan needs to allow the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to freely and without any problems go through the Lachin corridor with their belongings and vehicles.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a region that is part of Azerbaijan, but it has been running its own government independently for many years. After a sudden and quick attack by Azerbaijan, where at least 200 people died and many more were hurt, the government in Baku stated that they have regained control of the area. This seems to have put an end to a conflict that has been going on for over a hundred years.
Azerbaijan has always been clear that the Armenian people living there had to decide between staying and becoming citizens of Azerbaijan or leaving. Most people have decided to leave their family home instead of being ruled by Baku.
In the past week, more than half of the people in Nagorno-Karabakh have moved to Armenia. This happened because Azerbaijan opened the Lachin corridor, which is the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. This allowed the people to leave.
Around 60,000 people have entered Armenia from the border by Thursday morning. Many of them were in a very bad condition, as mentioned by Samantha Power, who works for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). She visited the town of Kornidzor on Tuesday.
Nagorno-Karabakh has been cut off from the outside world for 10 months because Azerbaijan-backed activists created a military checkpoint on the Lachin corridor. They have stopped the import of food, medicine, and fuel to the country. CNN interviewed people who live in Stepanakert, the main city of the region, before the attack. These residents shared that they had to spend a lot of time waiting in a queue every day just to get their daily amount of bread.
Power said on Tuesday that the recent military attacks have made a very bad situation even worse. Doctors at the scene reported that many of the people who had arrived were extremely hungry and malnourished. -
Nagorno-Karabakh: Azerbaijan detains former leader of Karabakh
Ruben Vardanyan, a businessman who led the separatist government for a few months, was one of the thousands attempting to leave.
About 50,000 Armenian people have left Nagorno-Karabakh because Azerbaijan took control of it last week.
Mrs Vardanyan asked for help to make sure her husband is released safely.
“Veronika Zonabend said that Ruben supported the people of Arsakh during a 10-month blockade and shared in their fight for survival. ”
Azerbaijan’s border service stated that he had been brought to the main city, Baku, and given to other government organizations.
On Tuesday, many Armenians had to go through tough inspections by Azerbaijani border control when they crossed the border.
The government of Azerbaijan is searching for suspects who committed “war crimes” and they plan to forgive Armenian fighters who surrender their weapons in Karabakh.
“They said that the people who did bad things during the Karabakh wars should be given to us. ”
Nagorno-Karabakh is a region that is considered to be a part of Azerbaijan. However, it has been under the control of ethnic Armenians for the past thirty years.
Worries about more violence arose when Azerbaijan successfully blocked an important road into the area in December 2022.
On 20 September, a ceasefire stopped fighting for 24 hours. Azerbaijan and Karabakh leaders are discussing how to incorporate the enclave into Azerbaijan.
However, a lot of the area’s 120,000 Armenians are worried that they don’t have a future in Nagorno-Karabakh. The leader of Armenia said that people from different ethnic groups were being expelled from the area, which is a very serious and harmful thing.
The leaders of Karabakh said that at least 200 people died in the fighting last week, while Azerbaijan announced on Wednesday that 192 of their soldiers were killed.
There have been traffic jams on the road from Karabakh to Armenia for several days. A group from the BBC saw families squeezed into cars, with trunks overflowing and lots of belongings piled up on roof racks.
Western governments want Azerbaijan to let international observers go to Karabakh to watch how they treat the people who live there.
Germany has recently joined the calls for “transparency”, according to Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
She said on X, previously known as Twitter, that if Azerbaijan allows international observers, it would show that they are serious about their promises to protect and take care of the people in Nagorno-Karabakh.
On Tuesday, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev, to ensure that civilians are kept safe and have the freedom to move without any conditions. He also said that it is important for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Nagorno-Karabakh without any obstacles.
The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, also asked both groups to treat human rights with care and respect. -
20 people killed in fuel storage explosion in Nagorno-Karabakh
An explosion happened at a place where fuel is stored in Nagorno-Karabakh. Sadly, 20 people have died and many more have been injured, according to the local Armenian officials.
Almost 300 people were taken to hospitals, and many of them were said to be in very serious condition.
The Armenian government said that 19,000 refugees have entered the country from the enclave where local forces gave up to Azerbaijan.
About 120,000 ethnic Armenians live in the area that is being argued about.
It is still not known what caused the big boom on Monday evening near the main city of Khankendi, which Armenians call Stepanakert.
Many people are rushing to leave the area because of a fuel shortage, causing petrol stations to be extremely busy. This area had already been dealing with a lack of fuel for several months.
The only road that links Armenia to the enclave is very congested with many cars and buses. These vehicles are filled with ethnic Armenians who are trying to reach the town of Goris on the other side of the border.
The curvy mountain road from Goris to Armenia’s capital city, Yerevan, has had a lot of traffic even before sunrise.
A group of people from the BBC saw families squeezed inside cars, with the trunks overflowing and lots of things stacked up on roof-racks. People think they are permanently moving out of their homes, so they are trying to fit all of their things into their cars.
In Goris, a tiny town that has the same dusty brown color as the rugged mountains that enclose it, the thin roads are crowded with more cars and more families. Someone came in a car that was barely held together with tape. The car had a lot of damage on the side, with holes from flying pieces and broken windows.
The person who owns the place told BBC that it was attacked by bombs when Azerbaijan quickly started a fight to gain control of the area last week. “But it brought us to this point,” he happily says while being surrounded by little kids.
In the middle of the town square, lots of people are standing around not knowing what to do next. Volunteers give people simple food and warm blankets.
People who need to leave their homes because of an emergency are being recorded and sometimes taken to another place by bus. However, not many people have a clear plan or idea of what to do next after reaching this point.
Malina left her husband’s burial place behind in their village. He passed away shortly after the war that lasted for six weeks in 2020, which was the most recent outbreak of violence before this month.
She says he couldn’t handle the pressure. She is watching four grandchildren who are playing close by at the moment. They believe that this trip is not permanent, and they will eventually return home just like they did the last time. Malina doesn’t want to upset them by telling them the truth yet.
Last week, for two days, they stayed together in their cellar because their village was being attacked. After the Karabakh forces gave up, Malina says the community leaders told everyone to go to Armenia, to be safe. The village in the Martakert area of Nagorno-Karabakh is now deserted.
Malina explained that her family decided to leave because, regardless of any promises, they didn’t think they would be secure living under Azerbaijani control. -
Karabakh battle remnants displayed as relief arrives slowly
Azerbaijan’s army showed off the big weapons they took from Nagorno-Karabakh, while people are being told that many civilians don’t have a place to live after the Armenian separatists gave up.
Tanks, guns, and RPGs were shown to the BBC. This was the first time journalists were allowed access since separatists agreed to give up their weapons this week.
Armenian leaders of a specific ethnic group are reporting that many people are without access to food or a place to live.
Only one delivery of 70 tons of food was allowed.
The group of vehicles from the International Red Cross was the first to arrive in the area that both sides are arguing about, ever since Azerbaijan took control of it in a very quick military movement five days ago. Russia has given aid, but we don’t know how much.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a hilly place in the South Caucasus. It is officially considered part of Azerbaijan by the world, but for the past 30 years, a lot of it has been under the control of Armenians who live there.
On Saturday, Armenia asked the UN to send a team to Nagorno-Karabakh to watch over the rights of Armenian people. They believe that their lives are in danger.
Azerbaijan says it is not guilty and wants to make the Armenian people who live there equal citizens of the country again.
Around 200 Armenian people, including 10 ordinary people, lost their lives when Azerbaijan’s military entered the area earlier this week.
Now, thousands of people who have been forced to leave their villages and are no longer with their families are sleeping in tents or outside near the airport in the main city of Stepanakert, which Azerbaijan refers to as Khankendi. These details were shared by officials in Karabakh.
The airport is close to where Russian peacekeepers stay, and five of these peacekeepers died during the fighting.
On Saturday, Azerbaijan announced that it is cooperating with Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh to take away weapons from ethnic Armenian forces. This was an important condition for Azerbaijan to agree to a ceasefire.
In the outdoor area of a military headquarters in Susa, which is located close to the main city of the region, Azeri military officials displayed weapons that were surrendered by separatists and showed their pride in doing so.
The collection included a tank that looked like a T-72, some armored vehicles called BMP-2, guns, rifles, protective clothing, and explosives called mines. The BBC believes that the space covered was the same as half of a soccer field.
The defense ministry of Russia said they have given away six vehicles with armor, over 800 guns, and about 5,000 ammunition units up until now.
We don’t know what will happen to the 120,000 Armenian people in Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan wants to bring the region back together and a official from Azerbaijan told the BBC that nobody is forcing anyone to leave.
“He said that if we didn’t care about innocent people, like civilians, women, and children, we would have just gone into Khankendi. ”
Another person in authority said that the army had set up places for refugees to stay outside of Karabakh, and these places were ready to welcome people. However, both sides don’t trust each other and some Armenians might not want to leave.
Azerbaijan has informed the UN that it will consider Karabakh Armenians to be treated as equal individuals. But now, it is up to the people of Azerbaijan to decide their future.
It says that if Karabakh fighters give up their weapons, they can leave for Armenia if they want to, and they won’t face punishment.Armenia has created places to shelter many people, but the Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, prefers that they stay unless it is necessary for them to leave.
Many people in Stepanakert have said to the BBC that they are probably going to decide to leave.
I don’t know anybody who wants to stay in this place. I know some elderly people who are related to me and they lost their sons in past wars. They would rather die in this place, journalist Siranush Sargsyan said.
But for many people, especially those in my generation, this is already the fourth war they have experienced.
US Senator Gary Peters, who is leading a group of politicians to the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, stated that the people living in Nagorno-Karabakh are extremely scared. He also requested the formation of a team of international observers to help monitor the situation.
“He said that it is important for the world to know everything that is happening in that place. ” The Azerbaijani government says there is nothing to see or worry about. But if that’s true, we should let international observers come and see for themselves.
Areas where the BBC went appeared to have no people. Only some people like police, soldiers, and a few construction workers were visible.
The Russian peacekeepers that the BBC saw did not smile, and they seemed serious. However, up to now, there hasn’t been any serious violence since the surrender. -
Nagorno-Karabakh humanitarian aid delivered
Officials said that on Saturday, a Red Cross group delivered essential supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh. This was the first delivery of aid since Azerbaijan’s attack ended with a ceasefire facilitated by Russia.
The group of vehicles carried about 70,000 kilograms of supplies like wheat flour, salt, dried yeast, and sunflower oil for people in need. The information was shared by the International Committee of the Red Cross on X (previously called Twitter).
The help was taken through the Lachin corridor, which is the only road that connects Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, according to the ICRC.
Since December 2022, Azerbaijan has blocked the road, so now people and businesses can’t use it.
The ICRC said that they helped 17 injured people escape from the fighting. They also gave medicine and bags for bodies to help the people in need.
The ICRC said that because there are many people in need, they are sending more people there who specialize in health, forensics, protection, and cleaning up weapons.
Nagorno-Karabakh, also called Artsakh by Armenians, is an area in the Caucasus Mountains that is surrounded by Azerbaijan.
Nagorno-Karabakh is considered part of Azerbaijan by many countries, but it has about 120,000 Armenians living there who make up most of the population and don’t agree with Azerbaijani control.
It has led to a lot of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan for the past 30 years.
Even though there are Russian peacekeepers in the area, there has been a lot of tension in the region for many months.
In December, soldiers from Azerbaijan closed off the Lachin corridor, which is the only road that connects Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. This blockade stopped the delivery of food to the approximately 120,000 people living there.
Over 200 people died and more than 400 others were injured in a military operation led by Azerbaijan this week. The defense ministry of Azerbaijan declared it as an “anti-terror” campaign in the area.
Russia has sent 50 tons of help, including food and basic things that people need, to Stepanakert. Stepanakert is the capital of the region. This news was reported by the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti on Saturday.
US Senator Gary Peters, who is currently in Armenia leading a group of American lawmakers, said he saw the blockade at the Lachin corridor along with the US ambassador to Armenia Kristina Kvien and the governor of Armenia’s Syunik province, Robert Ghukasyan.
On Saturday, Peters spoke to reporters and said that he has spoken to many people who are very worried about their family members and what happened to them.
“They are aware that they have been going through a hard time for several months due to the blockade. They have been facing shortages of food, medical supplies, and basic fuel,” he explained. “It’s a really bad situation based on what I’ve heard, and I’m really worried. ” -
Fears in Karabakh increase as villagers call for assistance
US senators want a group of people from different countries to go watch over the area called Nagorno-Karabakh. The situation is getting worse for the people who live there and are Armenian.
Democrat Gary Peters, who was leading a group of people to that area, said that the people there were really scared.
There is not enough food and medicine in the main city, Stepanakert.
But, the International Red Cross said it was able to bring 70 tons of help on Saturday.
It was the first group of vehicles to arrive in the disputed area since Azerbaijan took control of it quickly five days ago.
Russia has also given help. Before, Moscow stated that Armenian fighters in Nagorno-Karabakh had begun surrendering their weapons to Russian peacekeepers.
Mr Peters expressed his worry about the current situation in Nagorno-Karabakh on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. He believes that it is important for the situation to be made more known or visible.
“He said it is important for people to know what is going on. The statements from authorities in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, are not helpful and should be checked. ”
Armenians living in Karabakh say that the situation in Stepanakert (also known as Khankendi by Azerbaijanis) is very bad.
They said they were trapped in the area, with very little food, electricity, or fuel, and asked for help from other places.
Many people have come to the city to seek shelter because there are often times when the electricity goes out.
Many people are sleeping in tents or outside near Stepanakert airport.
Families are saying that they cannot communicate with each other because the Azerbaijani army has blocked them, and they are worried because they don’t know if their relatives are alive or dead.
One resident named Siranush Sargsyan said that she doesn’t know anyone who wants to stay here.
“I have older family members who are very close to me. They sadly lost their sons in past wars. They choose to stay and pass away in this place,” she said.
Baku says that the problem is now only a matter for Azerbaijan.
Jason Straziuso, who speaks for the International Committee for the Red Cross in Geneva, said that they gave food aid to the area on Saturday. The aid included wheat, salt, and yeast.
“He said that now, communities will be able to make bread with those ingredients. ”
“He said that based on what he has observed internally, the ceasefire is still in place. ”
We have been talking to everyone involved and they are letting us help with our charitable work. We think there will be more opportunities to help soon.
In the meantime, it is said that five Russian peacekeepers were shot and killed in a situation that seems to involve Azerbaijani forces.
Pictures on social media showed that the back window of the vehicle that the Russian soldiers were in had bullet holes in it.
Azerbaijan is currently burying the people who died during the special mission. On Friday, the BBC discovered 12 new graves of military personnel in a cemetery in Baku.
At least 25 more plots for burial were being made ready. Some soldiers from Azerbaijan died during the fighting, according to military people at the cemetery. -
Another shooting incident reported to have occurred in Karabakh despite ceasefire deal
Armenian groups in Nagorno-Karabakh claim that Azerbaijan’s military has violated a ceasefire agreement mediated by Russia.
Social media videos showed the sound of guns in the capital city of the territory.
Azerbaijan said that the reports are not true.
The two groups had discussions to discuss the inclusion of the enclave into Azerbaijan after Karabakh forces agreed to surrender after a day of intense fighting.
The day after the truce started, Armenian forces in the area said that Azerbaijan was breaking the agreement on the ceasefire by using different weapons.
They said that people could hear gunshots in the center of the main city of the region, called Khankendi, also known as Stepanakert by Armenians.
Videos showed people in the city running for safety and there was the sound of what seemed to be gunfire from small weapons in the background.
Neutral observers have not been able to go to the area since Azerbaijan imposed a strong blockade in December 2022.
Azerbaijan’s defense ministry quickly said that the news about fighting restarting is not true. They strongly disagree with this information.
At the same time, Armenian and Azerbaijani representatives met in the town of Yevlakh, which is about 100km (60 miles) north of Khankendi, to talk about what will happen next in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Photographs on state media in Azerbaijan showed the two groups sitting together with members of Russia’s peacekeeping team.
After the ceasefire, Azerbaijan wants to gain full control over a breakaway region in the South Caucasus. Around 120,000 ethnic Armenians live there. Nagorno-Karabakh is known by the whole world as a part of Azerbaijan.
According to the agreement, the local Karabakh forces have to completely stop existing and also give up their weapons.
There is also a promise to Armenian forces leaving, even though their government says they don’t have any soldiers there.
Armenians are worried that if Azerbaijan gains control, there might be a possibility of removing Armenians from the area and making them leave Karabakh forcefully.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev mentioned that his country has no issues with the general population, but rather with their “criminal junta”.
Russia’s news agency, Interfax, reported that their peacekeepers had helped around 5,000 people leave dangerous places since the attack started.
According to Russia’s Kommersant newspaper, at least four peacekeepers were killed in shelling. One of them was the mission’s deputy commander.
President Aliyev expressed his sympathy and informed Vladimir Putin that there will be an investigation into their deaths, according to the Kremlin. -
Azerbaijan launches counter offensive attack on Karabakh
Azerbaijan’s military is conducting “anti-terror” operations in parts of Nagorno-Karabakh that are controlled by Armenia.
For many months, there has been a lot of conflict and disagreement about a region called the ethnic-Armenian enclave. This region is officially considered a part of Azerbaijan by the global community.
Loud noise from air raid sirens and exploding bombs could be heard in the largest city of Karabakh.
Eleven people from Azerbaijan, including both police officers and regular citizens, have died in a mine explosion and another separate incident.
Officials in the breakaway region’s defense department mentioned that the Azerbaijani military broke the ceasefire by launching missile and artillery attacks all along the contact line. Other representatives from Karabakh talked about a big and intense military attack.
The countries Azerbaijan and Armenia have fought two times over Nagorno-Karabakh. The first time was in the early 1990s when the Soviet Union collapsed, and the second time was in 2020.
Three years ago, Azerbaijan took back areas in and around Karabakh from Armenia that were under Armenian control since 1994.
Since December, Azerbaijan has blocked the only way into the enclave from Armenia, called the Lachin Corridor, and it has been successful.
On Tuesday, the Defense Ministry in Baku accused Armenian forces of continuously attacking its army positions and mentioned that it retaliated by carrying out smaller operations to fight against terrorists locally. To remove weapons and make sure Armenia’s armed forces leave our land safely.
It said it was not trying to hurt innocent people or buildings where regular people live. It claimed that it only attacked specific military targets using very accurate weapons.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan spoke on TV and said his military was not involved. He accused Azerbaijan of attacking to get rid of the Armenian people in Karabakh.
On Tuesday, people in the city of Khankendi, also known as Stepanakert, could hear the loud noise of artillery and gunfire.
Around 120,000 Armenians live in the hilly area.
Journalist Siranush Sargsyan said that the city’s residential areas were hit, including a building next to hers.
The ombudsman responsible for protecting people’s rights in Karabakh said that two ordinary people, one of whom was a child, were killed, and some other children were hurt.
Authorities in Armenia stated that as of 2:00 PM local time (10:00 AM GMT), the condition on the country’s borders was “quite steady”.
Russia’s foreign ministry said they were only given a few minutes’ notice about the attack from Azerbaijan, and they’ve asked both countries to follow the ceasefire agreement made after the 2020 war. Toivo Klaar, who represents the EU in a specific area, said it is really important that the fighting stops right away.
The ceasefire that ended the war six weeks ago in 2020 was becoming more and more uncertain in the past few months.
On Tuesday, Laurence Broers, who is an expert on the South Caucasus region, said that the Armenian people in Karabakh were made weaker because of the blockade. He also mentioned that the Azerbaijan operation seems to be focused on taking back the entire Armenian-populated region of Karabakh.
Hikmet Hajiyev, who helps the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, suggested that the ethnic-Armenian administration that wants to separate should end itself.
Around 3,000 Russian peacekeepers were sent to observe the ceasefire in 2020, but Russia’s focus has shifted to their complete invasion of Ukraine.
The leader of Armenia recently said that Russia was leaving the area without much planning or warning. Azerbaijan and Turkey have been strong allies and have stood by each other.
Azerbaijan said they are not increasing the number of soldiers in the area. On Monday, the International Committee of the Red Cross was given permission to bring help to Karabakh using two routes. One route is through the Lachin Corridor from Armenia, and the other is through Azerbaijan’s Aghdam road.
People were hoping that tensions would calm down, but then officials from Azerbaijan said that six individuals died, including four police officers, when their vehicle hit a landmine in the Khojavand area. This area was taken back by Azerbaijan during the war in 2020.
The military department showed pictures of the wrecked car, but Armenian officials in Karabakh said it was Azerbaijan’s military that broke the ceasefire.