Armenia: The Armenian government has stated that over 100,000 people have fled the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Mr. Nazeli Baghdasaryan, the press secretary to Armenian Prime Minister Mr. Nikol Pashinyan, noted that 100,417 people had arrived in Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh, which had a population of approximately 120,000.
“A total of 21,043 vehicles have crossed the Hakari Bridge, which links Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, since last week,” Mr. Baghdasaryan said, adding that “some lined up for days because the winding mountain road that is the only route to Armenia became jammed.”
Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly rejected the accusations, saying the mass migration by the region’s residents was “their personal and individual decision and has nothing to do with forced relocation.”
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) also stated that 100,000 people had left the place, and many of them “are hungry, exhausted, and need immediate assistance”.
Mr. Artak Beglaryan, an Armenian former separatist official, commented that “the last groups” of Nagorno-Karabakh residents were on their way to Armenia. “At most a few hundred persons remain, most of whom are officials, emergency services employees, volunteers, and some persons with special needs,” Mr. Beglaryan posted on social media.
Azerbaijan’s Defence Ministry previously commented that an Armenian army sniper killed one of its servicemen in Kalbajar, and its forces were taking “retaliatory measures.”
Recently, the UN announced that it is sending a mission to Nagorno-Karabakh this weekend to assess the humanitarian situation in the region.
