Thousands of panicked ethnic Armenians converged on the airport in Nagorno-Karabakh where Russian peacekeeping forces are based after de facto leaders of the breakaway region agreed to lay down their arms and accept talks to “reintegrate” the territory into bitter rival Azerbaijan.
Amid the chaos on September 20, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that an unknown number of the country’s peacekeepers were killed when their vehicle was fired upon while returning from an observation post in the region.
Details remained scarce in the incident, and information could not immediately be verified. Russia authorities said peacekeeping teams were continuing to work with both sides, adding that 3,154 people, including 1,428 children, had been evacuated to safe areas.
Earlier, Azerbaijani leaders on September 20 vowed to allow “safe passage” to Armenia for the separatist forces of the region as part of the agreement to end fighting, seemingly putting an end to a decades-long struggle for ethnic Armenians seeking independence or attachment to Armenia for the territory.
“Safe passage to appropriate assembly points will also be provided by the Azerbaijani side,” presidential adviser Hikmet Hajiyev told reporters. “All the actions on the ground are coordinated with Russian peacekeepers.”
The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in a phone call to protect the rights of ethnic Armenians in the region and “to ensure full cease-fire and safe, dignified treatment by Azerbaijan of Karabakh Armenians.”
“Their human rights and security need to be ensured. Access needed for immediate humanitarian assistance,” Michel wrote on social media.
Aliyev, in a national address, said Azerbaijan had “restored sovereignty” after the latest developments in Karabakh. He claimed Baku had “nothing against” the people of the region, only its “criminal leadership.”
Aliyev declared his country’s military operation over and said…
Read the full article here
