Current:Home > NewsHalf of Nagorno-Karabakh’s population flees as the separatist government says it will dissolve -Global Finance Compass
Half of Nagorno-Karabakh’s population flees as the separatist government says it will dissolve
View
Date:2025-04-21 09:46:40
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — The separatist government of Nagorno-Karabakh announced Thursday that it will dissolve itself and the unrecognized republic will cease to exist by the end of the year, and Armenian officials said more than half of the population has already fled.
That is after Azerbaijan carried out a lightning offensive to reclaim full control over its breakaway region and demanded that Armenian troops in Nagorno-Karabakh lay down their weapons and the separatist government dissolve itself.
A decree to that effect was signed by the region’s separatist President Samvel Shakhramanyan. The document cited an agreement reached last week to end the fighting under which Azerbaijan will allow the “free, voluntary and unhindered movement” of Nagorno-Karabakh residents and disarm troops in Armenia in exchange.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a region of Azerbaijan that came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces, backed by the Armenian military, in separatist fighting that ended in 1994. During a six-week war in 2020, Azerbaijan took back parts of the region along with surrounding territory that Armenian forces had claimed during the earlier conflict.
Following the latest offensive and a cease-fire agreement brokered by Russian peacekeepers, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh separatist authorities have begun talks on “reintegrating” the region back into Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani authorities have pledged to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians in the region and restore supplies after a 10-month blockade. Many local residents, however, fear reprisals and have decided to leave for Armenia.
By Thursday morning, more than half of Nagorno-Karabakh’s population — over 65,000 people — had fled to Armenia, according to Armenian officials.
The massive exodus began on Sunday evening, and the only road linking Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia quickly filled up with cars that created an hourslong traffic jam. On Monday night, a fuel reservoir exploded at a gas station where people seeking to leave were lining up for gas that due to the blockade had been in short supply. At least 68 people were killed and nearly 300 injured, with over 100 more still considered missing.
It isn’t immediately clear if any of the ethnic Armenians that have populated the region will remain there. Shakhramayan’s decree on Thursday urged Nagorno-Karabakh’s population — including those who left — “to familiarize themselves with the conditions of reintegration offered by the Republic of Azerbaijan, in order to then make an individual decision about the possibility of staying in (or returning to) Nagorno-Karabakh.”
___
Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh comfort a young woman upon arriving to Kornidzor in Syunik region, Armenia, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Associated Press writer Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report.
veryGood! (73175)
Related
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Iowa county is missing $524,284 after employee transferred it in response to fake email
- See Who Will Play the Jackson 5 in Michael Jackson Biopic
- Nick Offerman slams 'homophobic hate' for his 'Last of Us' episode
- Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
- NFL mock draft 2024: Can question-mark QB J.J. McCarthy crack top 15 picks?
- Your map to this year's Oscar nominees for best International Feature Film
- Family Dollar Stores agrees to pay $41.6M for rodent-infested warehouse in Arkansas
- SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
- Former MLB Pitcher José DeLeón Dead at 63
Ranking
- Selena Gomez engaged to Benny Blanco after 1 year together: 'Forever begins now'
- How do you get lice? Here's who is most susceptible, and the truth about how it spreads
- Tennessee replaces Arizona as No. 1 seed in NCAA men's tournament Bracketology
- Brielle Biermann Engaged to Baseball Player Billy Seidl
- US wholesale inflation accelerated in November in sign that some price pressures remain elevated
- Man known as Dirty Harry arrested 2 years after family of 4 froze to death trying to enter U.S. from Canada
- New York City medical school students to receive free tuition moving forward thanks to historic donation
- New York roofing contractor pleads guilty to OSHA violation involving worker's death in 2022
Recommendation
$73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
New York Jets releasing durable guard Laken Tomlinson in move that saves cap space
Caitlin Clark 51 points from Pete Maravich's record as Iowa hits road against Minnesota
Body found in truck is man who drove off Alabama boat ramp in 2013
Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump
Debt, missed classes and anxiety: how climate-driven disasters hurt college students
2024 NFL draft: USC's Caleb Williams leads top 5 quarterback prospect list
Jacob Rothschild, financier from a family banking dynasty, dies at 87