A United Nations (UN) mission accessed the Karabakh region for the first time in nearly three decades, arriving on Sunday to evaluate urgent humanitarian requirements, an Azerbaijani presidency spokesperson informed AFP.
This event follows an unexpected political shift resulting from a single-day Azerbaijani offensive last week, prompting Armenian separatists — who managed the region for 30 years — to agree to disarm, dissolve their government, and reintegrate with Baku.
The geopolitical and humanitarian landscape of the area has dramatically altered, with nearly all of Karabakh’s approximated 120,000 inhabitants fleeing the territory in subsequent days, instigating a significant refugee crisis.
According to Nazeli Baghdasaryan, a spokeswoman for the Armenian prime minister, by Sunday morning, “100,483 forcefully displaced persons arrived in Armenia,” with 45,516 refugees currently housed in temporary accommodation.
Azerbaijan has faced criticism from France for permitting the UN mission access only after the majority of the residents had already evacuated.
The cessation of Karabakh’s separatist movement has crushed a longstanding Armenian aspiration to reunite what they claim are their ancestral lands, a dream persisting through centuries of regional division since the medieval era.
Amidst the crisis, Armenia, a nation with a population of 2.8 million, confronted the daunting task of accommodating the sudden wave of refugees. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies appealed urgently for 20 million Swiss Francs ($22 million) to assist those fleeing on Friday.
On a reflective note, a national day of prayer for the region was observed by Armenia on Sunday, with hundreds attending a religious service in the Saint Sarkis church in Yerevan, amidst the country’s deep-seated tensions and humanitarian predicament.
The Armenian Apostolic Church’s leader, Karekin II, led a service in the main cathedral Echmiadzin, proximate to the capital, Yerevan.
While Yerevan accuses Baku of “ethnic cleansing,” a charge that Baku denies, it urges Armenians to remain in their homes and reintegrate with Azerbaijan, assuring them of respect for their rights.
However, with such profound political and humanitarian disturbances at hand, the future of those affected remains shrouded in uncertainty.
