The Government of Armenia announced this Tuesday that more than 13,000 people displaced by Azerbaijan’s military intervention in the secessionist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, whose population was mostly Armenian, arrived in the country.
“At 08:00 local time (05:00) on September 26, 13,350 displaced people arrived in Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh,” Armenia’s Council of Ministers said in a statement posted on its website.
“The Government provides accommodation to all those who have nowhere to live,” said Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s executive, specifying that 11,000 refugees have already registered, but that the process will continue.
The Government assured that it will provide accommodation to the displaced, many of whom are currently staying in a humanitarian center created in the city of Kornidzor, on the border with Azerbaijan and approximately 150 kilometers from Nagorno-Karabakh.
On Monday, the leader of the self-proclaimed republic, also known as Artsakh, Samvel Shahramanian, stated that many of the displaced had expressed their desire to move to family homes on Armenian territory.
Shahramanian, quoted by Armenian Public Radio, stressed that anyone who wants to leave for Armenia will be able to do so in the coming months.
On September 19, Azerbaijan announced the launch of “anti-terrorist operations” in Nagorno-Karabakh, following the death of four Azerbaijani police officers and two civilians following the explosion of mines placed by “Armenian saboteurs,” according to Baku.
The next day, the authorities of the secessionist territory, abandoned by Yerevan, capitulated and a ceasefire was agreed.
At least 200 people were killed and 400 injured, Armenian separatists said, and Nagorno-Karabakh faced a humanitarian emergency, with reports of shortages of electricity, gas, fuel and food.
On Friday, the European Commission announced a budget of 500,000 euros to strengthen humanitarian aid in Nagorno-Karabakh, in particular for displaced people who fled recent armed conflicts in the enclave.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to visit this Tuesday the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhchivan, located between Armenia and Turkey and separated from the rest of Azerbaijani territory.
Erdogan will visit Nakhchivana at the invitation of his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev, Turkish news agency Anatolia reported. Both leaders will address bilateral relations and the latest developments in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Source: TSF
