2023-09-25 16:08:27
After the victory of the Azerbaijani army against the troops of the ” Republic “ self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh, the influx of refugees onto Armenian soil continues. Huge traffic jams were reported on the only road connecting its ” capital “ Stepanakert to Armenia.
“As of noon on September 25, 4,850 forcibly displaced people entered Armenia from Nagorno Karabakh”, announced the Armenian government. Since the defeat of the separatist fighters, residents began arriving at the Armenian border crossing of Kornidzor on Sunday.
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” Nowhere to go “
In the town of Goris, further west, the humanitarian center installed in the premises of the municipal theater has been full since Sunday evening, noted an AFP journalist. All night, refugees followed one another to register, find accommodation or transport to other regions of Armenia. Anabel Ghoulassian, 41, from the village of Rev (Chalva in Azeri), has just arrived by minibus in Goris with five of her seven children, the other two are in Yerevan, the Armenian capital and her husband. At the start of the fighting last week, they all sought protection in the Russian base at Stepanakert airport. But they were kicked out after the first night and then lived in an abandoned building with no roof.
“Those were horrible days, we were just sitting next to each other. Rich or poor, all in the same place” says Valentina Asrian, 54, who lived in the town of Vank, and presented herself with her grandchildren, including the youngest born whom she is holding in her arms. “Who could have believed that the Turks (the name given to the Azeris by the local population) would enter this historic Armenian village…”she says. “They bombed the village, there were injuries, my sister’s husband was killed”adds Valentina, before confiding: “I have no relatives here, nowhere to go”.
Nagorno-Karabakh authorities said on Sunday that civilians left without housing due to the latest violence would be transferred to Armenia with the help of Russian peacekeepers, present there since the previous war in autumn 2020 Azerbaijan, for its part, has undertaken to allow rebels who surrender their weapons to go to Armenia. Many fear that Armenians will flee en masse from Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijani forces tighten their grip. Because in addition to the anxiety that reigns among the approximately 120,000 inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh, the humanitarian situation remains very tense.
“We are tired of war and fear”
On the Azerbaijani side, in localities close to Nagorno-Karabakh, such as Terter and Beylagan, many of those who had to leave this region in the past want to reside there again. “Of course I want to return to Karabakh, we are tired of war and fear”, says Nazakat Valieva, 49, a former worker who lost her husband during the conflict. For Azad Abbassov, a school teacher, Armenians and Azeris could live side by side, “we must eliminate the seeds of animosity between us.” “If the Armenians leave Karabakh, it does not matter, if they stay, it is very good for them if they accept our citizenship”comments Chemil Valiev, a 40-year-old trader in Gandja, the second largest city in Azerbaijan, in the presence of an AFP journalist.
Losses which continue to increase since Azerbaijan deplored on Monday the death of two of its soldiers the day before in the explosion of a mine, while, according to the Armenians, 200 people died in the clashes last week .
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