Following a lightning military offensive by Azerbaijani forces in the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, an estimated 10,000 evacuees are seeking shelter without basic living conditions in basements, while others have massed at an airport in hopes of fleeing to Armenia.
Concerns Grow For Humanitarian Situation Of Nagorno-Karabakh Evacuees
A social media photo dated September 21 from the Nagorno-Karabakh human rights ombudsman reportedly shows Armenian evacuees living in challenging conditions.
"More than 10,000 evacuated people are currently staying in basements without proper food, water, electricity, and all other basic conditions of living. Azerbaijan is committing a genocide in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) in real time with the tacit consent of the international community," the ombudsman wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Another social media picture is believed to show displaced Armenians waiting to leave on September 21 near the airport in Nagorno-Karabakh's de facto capital, Stepanakert.
Ombudsman Gegham Stepanian said on social media that the streets of Stepanakert were "filled with displaced people [who are] hungry and scared."
A local government worker (right) tries to calm residents after shooting was heard in Stepanakert.
An image released by the Russian Defense Ministry on September 21 reportedly shows civilians evacuated by Russian peacekeepers at an undisclosed location.
Azerbaijan halted its military action in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh on September 20 after its swift battlefield success forced Armenian separatists to agree to a cease-fire that would see the area fully return to Baku's control.
A woman cooks on a makeshift outdoor stove near a street in Stepanakert.
Stepanian has said that at least 200 people were killed and about twice as many wounded during the latest fighting, including children.
Local residents gather near a local government building after reports of shootings in Stepanakert.
Separatists running the self-styled Republic of Artsakh -- as Nagorno-Karabakh is known by Armenians -- said they had been forced to agree to Azerbaijan's terms -- relayed by Russian peacekeepers -- after Baku's army broke through their lines and seized strategic locations.
Azerbaijan had said it could no longer tolerate a situation it regarded as a threat to its security and territorial sovereignty.
Armenian demonstrators hold placards demanding the resignation of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in Yerevan on September 21.
Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan and is currently populated by around 120,000 ethnic Armenians. It broke from Baku's hold in a war as the Soviet Union collapsed. It survived for decades with direct support from Armenia thanks to control of a land link known as the Lachin Corridor.
Demonstrators continued to block the streets in Yerevan on September 22, demanding Pashinian's ouster over the surrender of Nagorno-Karabakh. More than 80 people were detained.
Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of blocking the Lachin Corridor, the sole road linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, since December 2022. Azerbaijan had insisted that aid trucks should go through Azerbaijani territory to ensure no contraband was being shipped.
A protester clashes with Armenian police officers in Yerevan on September 21.
A second war in 2020 saw Azerbaijan reconquer territory in and around the mountainous region and Armenia lose control of the corridor, leaving the road policed by Russian peacekeepers until it was blocked last December.
Law enforcement officers detain a protester near a government building in Yerevan on September 21.
Baku says it has plans to reintegrate Nagorno-Karabakh and its ethnic Armenian population back into Azerbaijan. But the Azerbaijani authorities aren't saying what the plan is, and the details remain far from clear. The first session of "reintegration" talks ended on September 21 without any sign of a breakthrough.