Nagorno-Karabakh 'ceases to exist' as population flees

By Stefan J. Bos  

Fearing for their lives, more than half of Nagorno-Karabakh's mainly Christian Armenians have now fled their volatile enclave, officials said.

Over 60,000 desperate people, including men, women, and children, have made their way towards Armenia, leaving behind their homes in this mountainous region.

With the exodus continuing, Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said he expects no Armenians will be left in Nagorno-Karabakh in the coming days.

All 120,000 Armenians living here have then left the enclave that was recaptured by Azerbaijan last week.

The self-declared Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh leader said Thursday that he had signed an order dissolving all state institutions from January 1.

The roots of the conflict date back to 1921 when the then Soviet Union attached Armenian majority Nagorno-Karabakh to the Azerbaijan Soviet Republic.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, Armenia retook control of the enclave, saying it wanted to defend the rights of Armenians.
Since then, both nations fought two wars over the territory. On September 20, a ceasefire ended 24 hours of fighting.

Ethnic cleansing  

But the Armenian prime minister claims that since then, ethnic cleansing has begun in the region by forces of mainly Muslim Azerbaijan.

At least some refugees share that sentiment. "We know we are being killed as Christians," argued Armenian refugee Narine Shakaryan. "The territory is the pretext. This is the genocide of a Christian nation," she added. "Now we are homeless dogs. Now we have that status. Let the world know that we are stray dogs," said the tearful woman, one of many streaming into Armenia.  

Talks between Baku and the Karabakh authorities have started on the possible reintegration of those who left their homes.

But for now, most refugees of Armenian descent say they see no future in the enclave they called home. "I wish there was no war. We should live together," says refugee Slava Osipyan. "God brought us to this world so that we can be alive," he stressed.

Western governments have urged Azerbaijan to allow international observers into Nagorno-Karabakh to monitor its treatment of the local population, but access has not yet been given.

And in a sign of more tensions, Azerbaijani authorities charged a former enclave leader with crimes including financing terrorism.

Ruben Vardanyan, who headed the separatist government from November 2022 until February, was arrested on Wednesday while trying to leave for Armenia. Azerbaijan says it is prepared to give amnesty to Armenian fighters who laid down their arms in the enclave but warned that anyone who, in its view, committed "war crimes" must be detained.