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Armenia Asks UN Security Council To Hold Emergency Meeting On Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenian war veterans and army volunteers with the intention of unblocking the Lachin Corridor are confronted by law enforcement officers on a road just before the checkpoint.

Armenia has asked the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting regarding the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Azerbaijan's mostly Armenian-populated breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

In his August 11 letter to the president of the Security Council, Armenian UN Ambassador Mher Margarian said the people of Nagorno-Karabakh are “on the verge of a full-fledged humanitarian catastrophe.”

Both Armenia and separatist authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh have said that Azerbaijan has blockaded Nagorno-Karabakh since December, resulting in shortages of food, medicines, and energy.

SEE ALSO: With Tightening Of Blockade, Azerbaijan Presents Karabakh Armenians With A Choice: Surrender Or Starve

Tensions escalated further after Azerbaijan in June tightened its blockade at a checkpoint installed in April on the road known as the Lachin Corridor, the only link between Armenia and the breakaway region, claiming that "various types of contraband" had been discovered in Red Cross vehicles coming from Armenia.

Referring to the blockade, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said on August 11 that banning the delivery of humanitarian aid amounted to "genocide."

Pashinian also warned Azerbaijan against what he called "nullifying a historic opportunity for peace" between the two South Caucasus nation.

Azerbaijan denies blockading Nagorno-Karabakh and offers an alternative route for supplies via the town of Agdam, which is situated east of the region and is controlled by Baku.

SEE ALSO: Deaths, Mass Protests As Nagorno-Karabakh Blockade Tightens

However, Nagorno-Karabakh's separatist government has rejected that offer, saying Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor is a violation of the Moscow-brokered 2020 cease-fire agreement that placed the 5-kilometer-wide strip of land under the control of Russian peacekeepers.

A group of UN experts issued a statement on August 7, expressing alarm over the ongoing blockade of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan, which they said had led to a dire humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“By lifting the blockade, the [Azerbaijani] authorities can alleviate the suffering of thousands of people in Nagorno-Karabakh and allow for the unimpeded flow of humanitarian assistance to the civilian population," the experts said. "It is essential to ensure the safety, dignity, and well-being of all individuals during this critical time."