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Arsen’s last act before leaving the town she had fought for in recent weeks was lighting a fire in her sister’s dining room, which consumed the building in minutes. Like him, other inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh who have been under Armenian control for more than 20 years and who, in a few days, move to Azerbaijan have done the same with their homes.
They’ll be here tomorrow morning. Fuck you They live here, if they can, ”Arsen said, quoted by the Reuters report in Charektar.
The agreement that ended the fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan, mediated by Russia, provides for the transfer to the Baku government of territories on the Nagorno-Karabakh border controlled by Armenia since the 1990s. The terms of the understanding were seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and sparked protests in Armenia, which saw them as capitulation.
Until the 20th, Armenia must hand over the Kalbajar and Aghdam regions, and Lachin regions before the end of the month.
It is also time to take stock. Armenia says it has lost more than 2,300 soldiers in the course of six weeks of fighting. Azerbaijan reported no casualties among its ranks, representing 93 civilian deaths. The two countries have been exchanging corpses of dead soldiers in their territories in recent days. The Russian government, which has mediated diplomatic efforts, estimates that the fighting left more than 4,000 dead and 8,000 injured, as well as tens of thousands of refugees.
The two countries are fighting for control of the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijani territory, but controlled by pro-Armenian authorities since the end of the civil war between them in 1994. Since then, the conflict has sporadically resumed . But the fighting in recent weeks has been the most violent in almost 30 years. The worsening tension between the two former Soviet republics has renewed fears of a new conflict in the Caucasus, with the potential to attract other countries. In addition to Russia, Turkey, an ally of Baku, also has interests in the region.
After successfully negotiating a ceasefire agreement, Russia is now trying to secure the deployment of a United Nations mission on the ground for humanitarian purposes. “The UN is very interested in coordinating its actions with our peacekeepers, with our border guards and with those who will solve humanitarian problems,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The Russian peacekeeping mission arrived in Stepanakert, the main town in the enclave, on Friday and includes some 2,000 soldiers. Among its tasks is the supervision of compliance with the truce by both parties.
