TRAGEDY IN KARABAKH EXODUS OF ARMENIANS FROM NAGORNO KARABAKH

Описание: Prior to the start of hostilities launched by Azerbaijan, fears grew that Azerbaijan would begin genocide against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. The first prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Doctor of Law Luis Moreno Ocampo, classified the blockade as genocide, an invisible weapon that is hunger. He accused the Azerbaijani authorities of violating paragraphs A and B of Article 2 of the genocide convention. Baroness Caroline Cox, founder of the humanitarian aid foundation, called on the UK government to prevent an act of genocide.
Following statements about the disarmament of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army, the Lemkin Institute warned that the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh are in critical danger of genocide, noting that the Azerbaijani military is imbued with genocidal Armenophobia and that calls for violence are circulating in the Azerbaijani segment of social networks, as well as reports of the killing of local Armenians who refused to leave their homes. The Azerbaijani government has said that local residents are not in danger and should reintegrate, but these statements have been questioned given the country's strong authoritarianism and repression of the Armenian population.
Fearing genocide, ethnic cleansing and arrests, the first group of refugees reached Armenia through the Kornidzor checkpoint on September 24. According to the Armenian government, 1,050 refugees have arrived. After this news spread, a flow of refugees to Armenia began. On September 27, Azerbaijani authorities arrested Ruben Vardanyan, a former minister of state of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, billionaire and philanthropist, while attempting to enter Armenia.
After 10 months without access to fuel, the first fuel deliveries were made to enable them to refuel their vehicles and move to Armenia. On September 25, free distribution of fuel for travel to Armenia began in Stepanakert. On the same day, a gas station in Berkadzor exploded, killing 170 people and injuring more than 290.
On September 28, 2023, NKR President Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree on the termination of the existence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic from January 1, 2024.
According to the Armenian side, as of October 1, the number of refugees from the NKR to Armenia amounted to 100 thousand people, despite the fact that the population of the NKR before the exodus was 120 thousand people. The remaining almost 20 thousand people left the republic before the mass exodus of Armenians from Karabakh. There are practically no Armenians left in Artsakh.