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Most of the Armenian population leaves Nagorno Karabakh

2023-09-29 17:19:11, Kosova & Bota CNA

Thousands of refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh continue to cross into Armenia. As of Monday, most of the enclave's population was evacuated from the separatist region that was taken over by Azerbaijan. The new arrivals say that the columns of Armenian refugees stretch up to 100 kilometers behind them. Official announcements from the UN refugee agency say that at least three-quarters of Nagorno-Karabakh's Armenian population have already registered as refugees in Armenia, and they undoubtedly expect that number to rise. VOA correspondent Heather Murdock reports from the town of Goris in Armenia, on the road to Nagorno-Karabakh.

In the center of the Armenian city of Goris, refugees coming from the enclave of Nagorno Karabakh receive humanitarian aid, in the form of food or blankets.

As of Monday, most of Nagorno-Karabakh's Armenian population has left for Armenia, and the local government, known to these residents as the Republic of Artsakh, announced that their self-proclaimed republic is officially dissolving.

Kavita Belani, representative of the UN Refugee Agency in Armenia, said at a press conference that the number of refugees could reach 120,000, which is estimated to be the entire Armenian population in Nagorno Karabakh.

"It is very difficult to say exactly how many people will come. Obviously, we now have over 80,000 registered refugees, but we are ready to handle up to 120,000. The situation is changing rapidly," says Kavita Belani, the UNHCR representative in Armenia.

The families say the new wave of violence in their region is far more devastating than the battles of three years ago. Hundreds of people have been killed in this month's fighting, and families who stayed in 2020 are now fleeing for safety.

"We could see the bombings and the smoke, we were so close. In the past, in 2020 they were shooting from the border. This time the sound of gunfire was very close and we got scared", says Mariam Petrosyan, Armenian refugee from Nagorno Karabakh.

In mid-September, after decades of sporadic fighting, Azerbaijan quickly took control of the entire Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, a separatist region that lies inside Azerbaijan's internationally recognized borders.

For nine months before the Baku military attack, the road from the enclave to Armenia was closed. Residents who left said that within months, shops were empty and people were starving.

"We stood in line for three or four days and sometimes we couldn't even buy 200 grams of bread. The bread we received was not eaten, but we ate it so that we would not die of hunger. After that, we couldn't even find him anymore", says Mrs. Petrosyan.

She says her parents stayed to bury her cousin, who had been killed in battle, but now they too were on their way to Armenia.

Along the border strip, humanitarian workers provide food, water and other services while the families enter Armenia.

But many say refugee shelters are full and aid groups don't seem prepared to accommodate tens of thousands more people who are continuing to arrive in Armenia.

At the refugee center, some families say that the temporary shelters are already full and they don't know where they will sleep tonight./ VOA