The exodus of thousands of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh continues on Tuesday, almost a week after Azerbaijan’s lightning invasion of this Caucasus enclave mainly populated by Armenians, and a meeting between representatives of the two sides is scheduled for the day in Brussels.
More than 13,000 refugees fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh have arrived in Armenia, the Armenian government said on Tuesday, almost a week after the launch of an Azerbaijani offensive and the capitulation of separatists in this disputed enclave. “The government provides accommodation to all those who do not have a place to live,” Armenian authorities said in a statement, specifying that the registration of refugees was continuing.
Thousands of residents of Nagorno-Karabakh have already taken refuge in Armenia, despite Azerbaijan’s promise, reiterated Monday by its president, Ilham Aliev, that the rights of Armenians who remain in this enclave conquered by its army would be “guaranteed “.
Explosion in fuel depot
Monday evening, the separatist authorities also reported the explosion of a fuel depot which left more than 200 injured, and requested urgent external assistance to deal with this disaster.
“The number of injured after the explosion of a fuel depot exceeds 200. The majority are in serious or very serious condition,” said the human rights officer of the self-proclaimed republic, Gegham Stepanyan, on social networks.
The European Union is due to receive senior representatives of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Brussels on Tuesday, two former Soviet republics which clashed militarily in Nagorno-Karabakh from 1988 to 1994 (30,000 dead) and in the fall of 2020 (6,500 deaths). The death toll from last week’s blitzkrieg invasion is 200 dead, according to the Armenian side.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and the Azerbaijani President will meet on October 5 in Granada, Spain, with the participation of French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Council President Charles Michel, a meeting planned long-standing which has not been cancelled.
This article is originally published on fr.euronews.com
