Moscow says Russian peacekeepers in the region assisting with evacuation
Refugees load their cars as they leave the Red Cross registration center, in Goris. Pic/AP
Thousands of Armenians streamed out of Nagorno-Karabakh on Monday after the Azerbaijani military reclaimed full control of the breakaway region.
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The Azerbaijani military routed Armenian forces in a 24-hour blitz last week, forcing the separatist authorities to agree to lay down weapons and start talks on Nagorno-Karabakh’s “reintegration” into Azerbaijan after three decades of rule.
While Azerbaijan pledged to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians in the region and restore supplies after a 10-month blockade, many feared reprisals and said they were planning to leave for Armenia. The Armenian government said that 4,850 Nagorno-Karabakh residents had fled to Armenia as of midday Monday.
“It was a nightmare. There are no words to describe. The village was heavily shelled. Almost no one is left in the village,” said one of the evacuees who spoke to The Associated Press in the Armenian city of Kornidzor and refused to give her name for security reasons. Moscow said that Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh were assisting the evacuation.
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In an address to the nation Sunday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said his government was working with international partners to protect Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. “If these efforts do not produce concrete results, the government will welcome our sisters and brothers from Nagorno-Karabakh in the Republic of Armenia with every care,” he said.
Meanwhile, demonstrators demanding Pashinyan’s resignation continued blocking the Armenian capital’s main avenues Monday, engaging in occasional clashes with police that sought to disperse the protests.
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