The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh

Ethnic Armenians leaving the region. Gaiane Yenokian / AP  

The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenian anger at the West: "Where is Charles Michel?"  

 

Almost half of the 120,000 ethnic Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh have left the region after Azerbaijan's blitzkrieg offensive last week, local authorities said. For Politico, several of those fleeing their homes express an anger towards the West. 

 

- Everyone says they care about us. But where is France? Where is the USA? Where is Charles Michel? says Spartak who, together with his children and grandchildren, has left Nagorno-Karabakh.  

 

The US and the EU have promised to donate money to assist with the humanitarian situation. However, security guarantees and sanctions against Azerbaijan do not appear to be current.  

 

- Brussels has presented its vision for how the conflict can be resolved but has not taken into account the Armenians' fear of having to flee their homes, says expert Karena Avedissian.  

 

Refugee who came to Armenia. Vasily Krestyaninov / AP 

Continued mass exodus from Nagorno-Karabakh  

More than 50,000 people have fled to Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenian authorities say according to AFP. That is close to half of the region's population, which is estimated at around 120,000.  

The rapidly growing wave of refugees means that Armenia is facing a humanitarian crisis - on Tuesday, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's spokesperson stated that the government has so far only been able to arrange housing for 2,850 people.  

 

At the same time, the search continues for the more than 100 people who are missing after Monday's explosion at a fuel depot, which killed 68 people.