An elederly girls sits as she waits amongst fellow Armenian refugees in Goris on 29 September, 2023. AFP
Armenia mentioned Saturday that over 100,000 folks have fled Nagorno-Karabakh, which means practically all of the official inhabitants of the ethnic Armenian enclave has left since Azerbaijan seized again management.
Nazeli Baghdasaryan, a spokeswoman for Armenia’s prime minister, mentioned the variety of refugees coming into the nation over the previous week had reached 100,417.
The exodus comes after the Armenian enclave — estimated earlier than to have a inhabitants of 120,000 – noticed its decades-long battle in opposition to Azerbaijani rule finish in sudden defeat.
Baku reconquered the territory — internationally recognised as a part of Azerbaijan — in a lightning offensive final week that appeared to convey the curtain down on the festering battle.
The ethnic Armenian authorities within the self-proclaimed republic introduced it was formally ceasing to exist after they agreed to capitulate and hand over their arms.
Artak Beglaryan, a former separatist official, mentioned that in keeping with unofficial data “the last groups” of Nagorno-Karabakh residents had been on their solution to Armenia on Saturday.
“At most a few hundred persons remain, most of whom are officials, emergency services employees, volunteers, some persons with special needs,” he wrote on social media.
The flood of humanity throughout the border into Armenia previously few days has rewritten a centuries-old ethnic make-up of the disputed area.
Yerevan has accused Azerbaijan of conducting a marketing campaign of “ethnic cleansing” to clear Nagorno-Karabakh of its Armenian inhabitants.
However Baku has denied the declare and has publicly referred to as on the Armenian residents of the territory to remain and “reintegrate” into Azerbaijan.
The United Nations will ship a mission to Nagorno-Karabakh this weekend, primarily to evaluate humanitarian wants, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric introduced, including that the physique had not had entry to the area “in about 30 years.”
Armenia has requested the UN’s highest court docket to take pressing measures to guard the enclave’s inhabitants, the court docket introduced on Friday.
Yerevan urged the Worldwide Court docket of Justice (ICJ) to make sure that Azerbaijan doesn’t transfer to displace the remaining ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh or forestall “the safe and expeditious return” of those that have already fled.
The Worldwide Federation of Crimson Cross and Crimson Crescent Societies on Friday introduced an emergency enchantment for 20 million Swiss Francs ($22 million) to assist these fleeing.