Azerbaijan send in food supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh after warning of humanitarian catastrophe

Russian peacekeeper vehicles have been pictured leaving the region into Armenia as humanitatian supplies arrive

Ethnic Armenians enter a camp near Stepanakert in Nagorno-Karabakh on Thursday as a Russian military peacekeeper looks on (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service)

Azerbaijan has sent in food supplies to the Nagorno-Karabakh region after warning of a humanitarian catastrophe.

The aid comes two days after the region’s ethnic Armenian separatist government called a cease-fire in the latest round of fighting with Azerbaijani forces.

The area, which is internationally recognised as Azerbaijan has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces since 1994. Nagorno-Karabakh’s 120,000 people began suffering shortages late last year when a blockade on the road connecting the region to Armenia was installed.

Azerbaijan's emergencies ministry said two 20-ton trucks with food and hygiene products as well as two trucks with bread were dispatched to Nagorno-Karabakh on Friday, travelling on the road from Aghdam, which lies east of the region. (EPA)

Azerbaijan on Tuesday launched intense fire on Armenian positions in what it called an “anti-terrorist operation,” demanding that the Armenians lay down their arms and its separatist government disband. A day later, Nagorno-Karabakh authorities agreed to the military demands, but talks on how the region will be reintegrated into Azerbaijan have not reached final agreement.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Friday said at a government meeting that there was no immediate need for the region’s ethnic Armenians to leave their homes, but said Armenia is prepared to receive as many as 40,000 evacuees if needed.

Russian peacekeepers have left Nagorno-Karabakh region through an Armenian checkpoint near Kornidzor (REUTERS)

Russian peacekeeper vehicles were seen leaving the region and entering Armenia on Friday afternoon.

An outbreak of anti-Russian feeling in Armenia, traditionally one of Russia’s closest allies, has made the situation more difficult for Moscow, whose resources and attention are stretched by the war in Ukraine. Protesters who say they feel betrayed by Russia’s failure to stop Azerbaijan have gathered outside the Russian embassy in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, and chanted anti-Russian slogans.

The Russian foreign ministry has called for an “immediate halt to the bloodshed”.

Protesters rallied in the Armenian capital of Yerevan for a third day on Thursday, demanding that authorities defend Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. (AFP via Getty Images)

Residents of the Karabakh’s main city told The Independent that shelling and gunfire rang through the suburbs on Thursday morning. They added that a “humanitarian catastrophe” was unfolding as electricity had been completely cut off, food was running out and thousands of displaced civilians were hiding in shelters.

Hundreds are believed to have been killed in Karabakh in recent days. More than 100,000 ethnic Armenian civilians will now have to choose between exile from what they view as their historical homeland or integration into what many of them see as a hostile state despite Azerbaijani assurances.

In Stepanakert, the regional capital, 21-year-old Hayk Harutunyan said: “The majority of the population wants to be evacuated to Armenia. We cannot live with Azerbaijan.”

He told the Associated Press by telephone: “During the last 30 years thousands of Armenians were killed, our brothers and sisters. Azerbaijan’s goal is the annihilation of the Armenian nation; how can we live with those who want to kill us?”

Residents report wanting to evacuate to Armenia after reports of shooting in Stepanakert (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Both sides have been locked in a bloody battle over the mountainous region, also known as Artsakh by Armenians, since the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan – which is backed by Turkey – but home to 120,000 ethnic Armenians who have enjoyed de facto independence.

In 2020, a six-week war erupted which left 6,700 people dead and saw Azerbaijan reclaim about a third of the region. Russia, historically a close ally of Armenia that has long seen itself as a security guarantee in the South Caucuses, brokered a truce and dispatched 2,000 peacekeepers.

That was broken on Tuesday by the Azerbaijan army that unleashed a fresh wave of artillery and drone strikes against the outnumbered and undersupplied pro-Armenian forces, raising concerns that a full-scale war could resume.