More than 28,000 refugees have so far entered Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh, a separatist territory with a majority Armenian population where Azerbaijan carried out a lightning offensive last week, Armenian authorities said Tuesday.
Azerbaijan opened this Tuesday the only road that connects that enclave with Armenia, six days after the capitulation of the separatists and a ceasefire agreement that placed Nagorno-Karabakh under the control of Baku.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called on Tuesday for respect for humanitarian laws and protection for the thousands of people, mostly Armenians, who are fleeing the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave after the Azerbaijani military offensive that ended 30 years of self-government. government.
“Safe passage operations should only be organized if people decide to leave, they should not separate members of the same family and special attention should be paid to the sick and injured, the elderly, pregnant women, the disabled and the unaccompanied minors,” he added. the organization said in a statement.
The ICRC, which specializes in mediation and humanitarian assistance in conflict zones, was willing to act as a neutral mediator, facilitating operations to evacuate people safely.
“Our priorities are to ensure the protection of people who leave and those who decide to stay,” the organization said in the statement.
According to the ICRC, the humanitarian situation in the mountainous enclave remains precarious, with shortages of food and essential medicines, as well as telecommunications outages making it difficult for many people to contact their families.
Last week, the organization helped evacuate 50 people with urgent medical needs and sent 66 tons of humanitarian aid, including 1,500 liters of fuel for power generators and medical facilities.
The Red Cross is the only organization that has managed to deliver humanitarian aid to the population of Nagorno-Karabakh in recent days, after receiving authorization from the Azerbaijani authorities.
On September 24, the authorities of the self-proclaimed republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, which capitulated after the military operation launched on the 19th by Azerbaijan, announced that citizens who were left homeless could move to neighboring Armenia if they wished.
The remaining 120,000 inhabitants who intend to leave the region, which will be integrated into Azerbaijan, will be able to do so once the departure of the displaced and homeless has been completed, indicated the Information Center of the self-proclaimed republic.
Azeri President Ilham Aliev promised that the rights of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh would be respected, but Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian denounced that “ethnic cleansing” of that territory is already taking place.
The United States today announced $11.5 million (€10.8 million) in humanitarian aid for the thousands of refugees who fled the Nagorno-Karabakh region since Sunday.
The announcement was made by Samantha Power, director of the United States Agency for Development (USAID), during her visit to the humanitarian center created by the Armenian authorities in the border town of Kornidzor.
“The money will be used to buy food and also to pay for social and psychological help,” the USAID official told reporters.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today declared himself “deeply concerned” by the increasing number of people fleeing to Armenia in recent days, and called for the protection of civilians and full respect for international humanitarian assistance. and refugees.
“This decades-long and reignited conflict has displaced many thousands of people, [e] Our teams are on the ground trying to provide immediate assistance. We need to ensure that civilians are protected and that humanitarian assistance reaches those who need it,” said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, quoted in a statement.
According to UNHCR, the Government of Armenia is creating coordination structures, with its support and that of UN partners.
In addition, the United Nations specialized agency indicated that it is also “co-leading the interagency contingency and response plan with the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator to support the Government’s response.”
Finally, UNHCR reiterated its call to the parties to “refrain from actions that could lead to further displacement of civilians and guarantee their safety and human rights,” because “no one should be forced to leave their home.”
Source: TSF
