– I’m afraid of dying – VG

Azerbaijan’s defense said on Wednesday that its forces have occupied the Kalbajar region, the other of three regions that Armenia has surrendered to Azerbaijan.

– We are still afraid, Natalie Melkumian, 20, tells VG.

She is Armenian and was born and raised in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh.

Nagorno-Karabakh is officially part of Azerbaijan, but has been ruled from Armenia for three decades. Armenians believe that the area belongs to them and have had control there after they fought for the areas in the 1980s and 1990s. Armenian splits had dug themselves into the trenches and vowed never to give up the land in this frozen conflict. But that was before this fall.

Escape the ravages of war

Art student Natalie says that when war broke out in late September, her father sent the little family to the capital of Armenia, away from the ravages of war. Natalie, her mother, and her sister were going to live there for several weeks, while her father stayed to fight, as he did in the previous war.

– He often did not say where he was to protect us, but he was on the most dangerous front lines. We have been incredibly scared, he tells VG.

The Armenian Ministry of Health reports that 2,317 Armenian soldiers have died in the conflicts in the past six weeks. Azerbaijan has not said how many of its soldiers have died. Russia estimates that a total of 5,000 people have died in the war.

Was murdered

– Many of Dad’s friends were killed in the fight, but he survived and was not hurt, art student Natalie tells VG.

It has long been turbulent in Nagorno-Karabakh.

– Even before this war broke out, I was afraid to live here. He has long feared a new war would break out here, but would never imagine it being as brutal as it was, he says.

Natalie says that in three days she will move back to the city she fled from. Home to see his father and the city he grew up in.

– I fear that war will break out again after this peace agreement. I am prepared to die, she tells VG.

Celebrating with a tour

In mid-November, a peace agreement, negotiated by Russia, was signed between the two conflicting parties. It meant that Armenia had to give up control of areas that are populated mainly by ethnic Armenians.

In Azerbaijan, the agreement is celebrated and described as a total capitulation of the Armenians. However, many Armenians are very unhappy, which has been expressed in large demonstrations in recent times.

The Azerbaijani president has been in recent days on a tour of territories that he has recovered.

«We are now living in historic days. We achieved this victory thanks to our community, will and strength, “wrote Ilham Aliyev. Twitter yesterday.

On a television show Wednesday, he went even further.

– The Kalbajar district has been liberated from occupation today. With all my heart I congratulate the people of Azerbaijan on this occasion, Aliyev said.

Will not leave the country of origin

The peace agreement in Nagorno-Karabakh on November 9 means that the parties are maintaining the positions they took during the last fighting. This means that Azerbaijan will regain 15 to 20 percent of its previously lost territory.

The Red Cross has previously criticized both sides for the attacks on civilians and claims that they violate international law.

– We have seen heavy artillery strikes in large areas that have hit the civilian population hard, regional adviser Morten Tønnessen-Krokan at the Red Cross told NTB.

Although Armenia is giving up parts of Nagorno-Karabak, Natalie, 20, tells VG that she wants to move home. She knows there has been a lot of destruction in the neighborhood and says she is excited to see her city.

– I can’t leave my homeland even if it’s dangerous to live here.