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☆ Georgia presses on with Putin-style ‘foreign agent’ bill despite huge protests
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Christian Edwards | Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Georgia’s government is attempting to force through a controversial “foreign agent” law, despite international condemnation and huge protests from its citizens. Critics of the law say is it is a Kremlin-inspired effort to undermine democracy which will damage Georgia’s bid to join the European Union. The ruling Georgian Dream party first tried to pass the bill 13 months ago, but was forced into an embarrassing climbdown following a week of intense protests. Nearly 80% of Georgians support European integration, according to a poll conducted in December by the National Democratic Institute. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, thousands of Russians – especially men of service age – have fled to Georgia to avoid conscription.

Persons: CNN —, ”, Vladimir Putin, Putin, ” Salome Zourabichvili, Zourabichvili, –, Irakli Gedenidze, ” Giorgi Bekurashvili Organizations: CNN, European Union, South Caucasus, “, Kremlin, EU, National Democratic Institute Locations: Soviet, Europe, United States, Tbilisi, Georgian, Russia, South, Russian, “ Russia, Georgia, Ukraine

☆ Protesters in Georgia demand punishment for woman accused of defacing Stalin icon
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-13 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A large protest was held in Tbilisi on Saturday to demand harsh punishment for a woman accused of defacing a religious icon depicting Josef Stalin which was recently-installed in the Georgian capital, as tensions over the incident remained high. Thousands of Orthodox believers and supporters of the Alt-Info pro-Russian ultra-conservative movement gathered on Saturday in front of the country’s parliament before matching through the city in the direction of the cathedral. The icon is located at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi, Georgia. The police opened an investigation into “petty hooliganism” and questioned the woman who had damaged the icon. Flowers were placed by the icon on Saturday as believers lined up to kiss the part of it depicting Stalin.

Persons: Josef Stalin, Irakli Gedenidze, Stalin, St Matrona, ”, Flowers Organizations: CNN, Trinity Cathedral, Reuters, Alliance of Patriots, Holy Trinity Cathedral, Church Locations: Tbilisi, Georgia, Soviet, Russian, Georgian, Tbilisi , Georgia, Soviet Union, Moscow

☆ Karabakh refugees in Armenia face uncertainty and poverty in exile
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/5] Elada Sargsyan, 54, a refugee from Nagorno-Karbakh region, poses for a picture in a disused kindergarten, where she now lives temporarily along with dozens of other refugees from Karabakh, in the town of Masis, Armenia November 22, 2023. Born in the Azerbaijani capital Baku, Sargsyan fled her hometown in 1988, aged 19, as the Soviet Union began to fall apart. In 2020, they lost another home, when Azerbaijan - by now closely allied with Armenians' bête noire, Turkey - reconquered much of Karabakh including their village in a second war. Like many refugees, they have struggled to find work in Armenia. Alvina, a grandmother aged 65, has become the family’s main breadwinner, earning a little money selling homemade "jingalov hats" or "green bread", a flatbread stuffed with herbs that is a staple for Karabakh Armenians.

Persons: Elada Sargsyan, Irakli, Sargsyan, I’ve, they’ll, Masis, Alina Harutyunyan, Harutyunyan, I'd, Lilia Abrahamyan, Felix Light, Kevin Liffey Organizations: REUTERS, Soviet Union, Mount, Karabakh, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Masis, Armenia, Azerbaijan, MASIS, Baku, Soviet, Soviet Armenia, Aknaghbyur, Turkey, Armenia’s, Yerevan, Mount Ararat, Harutyunagomer, Ottoman Turks, Karabakh's, Vanadzor, Alvina

☆ World Court: Azerbaijan must let ethnic Armenians return to Nagorno-Karabakh
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTHE HAGUE, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Judges at the World Court on Friday ordered Azerbaijan to let ethnic Armenians who fled Nagorno-Karabakh in September return, and to keep the Armenians remaining in the enclave safe, as part of a set of emergency measures. Azerbaijan in September recaptured the region, then controlled by its ethnic Armenian majority despite being internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. The lightning offensive, after decades of enmity between Baku and Yerevan and a nine-month blockade of essential supplies by Baku, prompted the mass exodus of most of the region's 120,000 ethnic Armenians to neighbouring Armenia. Yerevan accused Azerbaijan of ethnic cleansing and asked the International Court of Justice, as the World Court is formally known, to issue emergency measures aimed at protecting the rights of ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan's foreign ministry said it had already pledged to ensure all residents’ safety and security, regardless of national or ethnic origin, and that it had not forced the ethnic Armenians to leave Karabakh.

Persons: Irakli, Joan Donoghue, Stephanie van den Berg, Nailia, Andrew Heavens, Hugh Lawson, William Maclean Organizations: REUTERS, HAGUE, International Court of Justice, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Kornidzor, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Baku, Yerevan

☆ Azerbaijan snubs Armenia meeting in Washington, accusing US of bias
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh region ride in a truck upon their arrival at the border village of Kornidzor, Armenia, September 27, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 16 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan's foreign ministry said on Thursday it could not take part in a meeting with Armenia's foreign minister planned for Nov. 20 in Washington because of the "one-sided approach of the United States". Azerbaijan objected in particular to "one-sided and biased" comments on Wednesday by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James O’Brien to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. It complained that O'Brien did not mention that "for more than two months Armenia has not been responding" to Azerbaijani peace proposals. The Azerbaijani statement also said Washington was continuing to offer support to Armenia even though Armenia was "an aggressor and a destabilizing source in the region".

Persons: Irakli, Nikol Pashinyan, State James O’Brien, O'Brien, Washington, Ali Asadov, Kevin Liffey, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: REUTERS, Russia's TASS, U.S, State, House Foreign Affairs Committee, U.S ., Reuters, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Kornidzor, Armenia, Washington, United States, Baku, Azerbaijan, U.S, Tbilisi, Yerevan

☆ As Azerbaijan claims final victory in Nagorno Karabakh, arms trade with Israel comes under scrutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Max Saltman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

Israeli ‘realpolitik’Young ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh in the town of Goris during evacuations to Armenia on October 1. Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure/AP Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh drive to Goris on September 28. Vahan Stepanyan/PAN Photo/AP Volunteers distribute food to ethnic Armenians arriving in Goris from Nagorno-Karabakh on September 28. Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh line up to receive humanitarian aid at a temporary camp in Goris on September 26. Wezeman, the researcher at SIPRI, said Israel could come under pressure from its Western allies to reconsider arms sales to Azerbaijan.

Persons: CNN —, Marut Vanyan, “ I’m, ”, “, Vanyan, Leonid Nersisyan, Rishon Le, Jack Guez, …, Pieter Wezeman, ” Wezeman, Emmanuel Dunand, Efraim Inbar, ” Inbar, Israel ’, Inbar, LORA, ” Hikmet Ajiyev, Ilham Aliyev, realpolitik, Diego Herrera Carcedo, Sergey Astsetryan, Aziz Karimov, Hayk, Vahan Stepanyan, Vasily Krestyaninov, Alain Jocard, Anatoly Matlsev, David Harapetyan, Irakli Gedenidze, Reuters Greta, Anthony Pizzoferrato, Samantha Power, Power, Astrig Agopian, Novlet, David Ghahramanyan, Israel Organizations: CNN, Azerbaijan, Applied Policy Research Institute, Israel Aerospace Industries, IAI, Autonomous Robotics, Getty, Haaretz, Artsakh Defense Army –, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense, Israeli Ministry of Defense, Ovda Airport, Israel, Jerusalem Institute for Strategy, “, APRI, Artsakh Defense Army, Reuters, AP, Erebuni, PAN, AP Volunteers, Karabakh, Technologies, US Agency for International Development, Volunteers, Vehicles, Red Cross, People, Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Stepanakert, Karabakh’s, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Rishon, Tel Aviv, AFP, Israel’s, Artsakh, Israel, Stockholm, Baku, Lachin, Iran, Iranian, Jerusalem, Ottoman, Turkey, Ottoman Empire, APRI Armenia, Syunik, Nakhchivan, Republic of Armenia, Goris, Yerevan, Kornidzor, Russia, United States

☆ UN mission arrives in Nagorno-Karabakh as ethnic Armenian exodus continues
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh region ride in a truck upon their arrival at the border village of Kornidzor, Armenia, September 27, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 1 (Reuters) - A United Nations mission arrived in Nagorno-Karabakh on Sunday, Azerbaijani media reported, as a mass exodus of ethnic Armenians from the region continued following a lightning Azerbaijani military offensive last month. The mission, led by a senior U.N. aid official, is the global body's first access to the region in about 30 years. Armenia has asked the World Court to order Azerbaijan to withdraw all its troops from civilian establishments in Nagorno-Karabakh and give the United Nations access. The World Health Organisation on Sunday said well over 100,000 ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh had travelled to neighbouring Armenia.

Persons: Irakli, Hans Henri P Kluge, Alexander Marrow, Hugh Lawson Organizations: REUTERS, United Nations, Court, International Court of Justice, World Health, Sunday, WHO, Office, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Kornidzor, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Europe

☆ More than 100,000 refugees arrive in Armenia as exodus swells
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh region sit in a bus upon their arrival in the border village of Kornidzor, Armenia, September 29, 2023. "Many are hungry, exhausted and need immediate assistance," Filippo Grandi, head of the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, said on social media late on Friday. Italy said Armenia had asked the European Union for temporary shelters and medical supplies to help it deal with the refugees. "This exodus is already unbearable physically because we have already spent 16 hours on this road... Reporting by Emma Farge, Angelo Amante and Nailia Bagirova; Writing by Giles Elgood; Editing by Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Irakli, Filippo Grandi, Siranush Sargsyan, Sargsyan, Emma Farge, Angelo Amante, Giles Elgood, Christina Fincher Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, UNHCR, European Union, Armenia, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Kornidzor, Armenia, Italy, Azerbaijan, Republic of Artsakh, Soviet Union, Artsakh, Kalbajar

☆ Armenia seeks EU aid for refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh, Italy says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

People gather near an aid center for refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh region in the border village of Kornidzor, Armenia, September 29, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze Acquire Licensing RightsROME, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Armenia has asked the European Union for assistance to help it deal with refugees arriving from Nagorno-Karabakh since Azerbaijan took back control of the region last week, the office of Italy's prime minister said on Saturday. More than 100,000 refugees have arrived in Armenia since Azerbaijan launched a military operation to retake control of Nagorno-Karabakh, the head of the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) said late on Friday. Armenia has asked the EU for temporary shelters and medical supplies, the Italian prime minister's office said in a statement, adding that Rome working to promote stabilisation in the region. Reporting by Angelo Amante Writing by Gianluca Semeraro Editing by Helen PopperOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Irakli, Angelo Amante, Gianluca Semeraro, Helen Popper Our Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, European Union, UNHCR, EU, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Kornidzor, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Republic of Artsakh, Soviet Union

☆ UN refugee agency readying for up to 120,000 refugees in Armenia
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Kavita Belani, UNHCR representative in Armenia, told a U.N. press briefing by video link that huge crowds of tired and frightened people were gathering at registration centres. "And when they come in, they're full of anxiety, they're scared, they're frightened and they want answers." It's very hard to predict how many will come at this juncture," she added in response to a question about refugee numbers. People gather near an aid center for refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh region in the border village of Kornidzor, Armenia, September 29, 2023. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies representative Hicham Diab said there was a massive need for mental health support for refugees.

Persons: Kavita Belani, they've, Irakli, Regina De Dominicis, Hicham Diab, Carlos Morazzani, Emma Farge, Miranda Murray, Peter Graff Organizations: UNHCR, REUTERS, UNICEF, International Federation of Red, Red Crescent Societies, International Committee, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Armenia, Nagorno, Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Kornidzor

☆ More than half of Nagorno-Karabakh's ethnic Armenians have left
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] Refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh region ride in a truck upon their arrival at the border village of Kornidzor, Armenia, September 27, 2023. Azerbaijan says it is prepared to respect ethnic Armenian rights as it reabsorbs the region, but with a history burdened by folk memories of alleged genocide, ethnic cleansing, pogroms and at least two wars, the Armenians are fleeing in fear. In Soviet times, Nagorno-Karabakh enjoyed autonomy within the Soviet republic of Azerbaijan. But as the Soviet Union crumbled the First Karabakh War erupted. About 30,000 people were killed between 1988 and 1994 and more than a million people displaced, more than half of them Azeris.

Persons: Aliyev Aliyev, David, Ruben Vardanyan, Nikol Pashinyan, Samantha Power, Ilham Aliyev, Guy Faulconbridge, Kevin Liffey Organizations: REUTERS, USAID, Soviet, KARABAKH, Wednesday, Armenian, West, U.S . Agency for International Development, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Kornidzor, Armenia, Yerevan, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, Soviet Union, Soviet, Russia, United States, Turkey, Iran, Ukraine, Moscow, Baku, Lachin

Refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh region ride in a truck upon their arrival at the border village of Kornidzor, Armenia, September 27, 2023. Earlier, Ethnic Armenian authorities in Karabakh said they were dissolving the breakaway statelet they had defended against Azerbaijan for three decades. Many of those leaving have said they fear persecution and ethnic cleansing at the hands of Azerbaijan. Suleymanov, who issued a call on social media appealing to ethnic Armenians to stay and be part of a multi-ethnic Azerbaijan, said he understood why many civilians were frightened, but that those who chose to stay would benefit from planned rebuilding and infrastructure projects. HISTORIC MONUMENTSKarabakh Armenians will enjoy the same rights and protections as other citizens of Azerbaijan, he said.

Persons: Irakli, there's, Elin Suleymanov, Suleymanov, we're, Andrew Osborn, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Azerbaijan, Reuters, Baku, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Kornidzor, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Britain, Baku, Nakhchivan, Iran, Turkey

☆ US to announce disaster response team for South Caucasus amid Karabakh crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Daphne Psaledakis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday will announce it has deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team in the South Caucasus region to coordinate the U.S. humanitarian response to the crisis after Azerbaijan took back control of Nagorno-Karabakh last week. "The United States is deeply concerned about the safety of vulnerable populations in Nagorno-Karabakh and the more than 50,000 people who have fled to Armenia," Power said in the statement. Power traveled to Armenia and Azerbaijan this week following Azerbaijan's defeat of the breakaway region's fighters in a conflict dating from the Soviet era. The Armenians are not accepting Azerbaijan's promise to guarantee their rights as the region is integrated. "Azerbaijan must protect civilians, uphold its obligations to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all individuals in its country, and ensure its forces comply with international humanitarian law," Power said.

Persons: Samantha Power, Irakli, Power, Ilham Aliyev, Daphne Psaledakis, Peter Graff Organizations: Agency for International Development, USAID, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, U.S . Agency for International Development, Karabakh, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Kornidzor, Armenia, United States, South Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Soviet, Washington, Soviet Union

☆ Tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians rush to flee Nagorno-Karabakh
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh region ride in the back of a truck as they arrive in the border village of Kornidzor, Armenia, September 26, 2023. The hairpin mountain road snaking out of Karabakh towards Armenia was choked with people. There were conflicting details about the toll of the blast but the ethnic Armenian authorities said at least 68 had been killed, 105 were missing and nearly 300 were injured. "The Secretary urged President Aliyev to commit to broad amnesty and allow an international observer mission into Nagorno-Karabakh," Miller said. "President Ilham Aliyev underlined that respective activities are underway to ensure the rights of Armenian residents living in the Karabakh region," it said.

Persons: Irakli, GORIS, Vera Petrosyan, Ilham Aliyev, Nikol Pashinyan, Antony Blinken, Azerbaijan's Aliyev, Matthew Miller, Aliyev, Miller, Blinken, Guy Faulconbridge, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: REUTERS, Soviet Union, Reuters, Armenian, West, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Kornidzor, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Soviet South Caucasus, South Caucasus, Soviet, Askeran, Russia, United States, Turkey, Iran, Moscow

☆ Armenian priest fears for Karabakh's Christian heritage amid mass exodus
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Azerbaijan launched a lightning offensive last week to retake the whole region, prompting a mass Armenian exodus. More than 50,000 people had crossed the border into Armenia by early Wednesday afternoon, nearly half of Karabakh's estimated 120,000 ethnic Armenians. Prior to last week's offensive, the Karabakh Armenians had lived under an effective 10-month Azerbaijani blockade which had led to chronic shortages of food, fuel and medicines. ANCIENT CHRISTIAN LANDConflict in the region between Armenians and Azeris goes back more than a century. There are churches in Azerbaijan which the authorities say are Caucasian Albanian rather than Armenians, something Armenians strongly dispute.

Persons: David, Irakli, Priest, Father David, Gareth Jones, William Maclean Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Christianity, Thomson Locations: Goris, Nagorno, Karabakh, Kornidzor, Armenia, KORNIDZOR, Azerbaijan, Republic of Artsakh, Soviet Union, Baku, Shusha, Moscow, Russian, Armenia's, Albania, Albanian, Turkey, Iran, Ottoman Turks

☆ Azerbaijan arrests former top Karabakh minister as exodus tops 50,000
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but populated mostly by ethnic Armenians who broke away in the 1990s in the first of two wars there since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Karabakh authorities said more than 50,000 had left so far, out of an estimated ethnic Armenian population of 120,000. Azerbaijan rejects Armenian accusations of ethnic cleansing, but images of tens of thousands of desperate people on the move have provoked widespread international alarm. Germany added its voice to U.S. calls for Azerbaijan to allow international observers into Karabakh. Karabakh authorities said they lost at least 200 people in Azerbaijan's offensive last week.

Persons: Ruben Vardanyan, Veronika Zonabend, Morris Tidball, Binz, Annalena Baerbock, Matthew Miller, Washington, Irakli, Ilham Aliyev, Zonabend, Miller, Vera Petrosyan, Daphne Psaledakis, Mark Trevelyan, Gareth Jones, Philippa Fletcher, Alison Williams Organizations: Twitter, U.S . State Department, REUTERS, Reuters, Local, Russian, Russia, State, Washington, Thomson Locations: Azerbaijan Karabakh, Germany, GORIS, Armenia, Nagorno, Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Baku, Soviet Union, Kornidzor, Russia, Ukraine, Caucasus, Turkey, Iran, United States, Washington

☆ In pictures: Karabakh's Armenians start to leave en masse for Armenia
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[2/17]A refugee from Nagorno-Karabakh region is carried out of a vehicle upon arrival at a temporary accommodation centre in the town of Goris, Armenia, September 25. REUTERS/Irakli GedenidzeGORIS, ARMENIA

Organizations: REUTERS Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Goris, Armenia, GORIS, ARMENIA

☆ Exclusive: Senior US officials traveling to Armenia as Karabakh's Armenians start to leave
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Daphne Psaledakis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh region arrive at a temporary accommodation centre in the town of Goris, Armenia, September 25, 2023. Power will meet with senior government officials and will "affirm U.S. support for Armenia’s democracy, sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity and commitment to address humanitarian needs stemming from Nagorno-Karabakh," the official said. Thousands of Karabakh Armenians have been left without food. In 2020, after decades of skirmishes, Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey, won a 44-day Second Karabakh War, recapturing territory in and around Karabakh. That war ended with a Russian-brokered peace deal that Armenians accuse Moscow of failing to guarantee.

Persons: Irakli, Samantha Power, Yuri Kim, Nikol Pashinyan, Daphne Psaledakis, Donna Bryson, Michael Perry Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Biden, U.S, Reuters, U.S . Agency for International Development, . State, USAID, Karabakh, International Committee, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Goris, Armenia, Soviet, Europe, United States, Azerbaijan, Russia, Soviet Union, Turkey, Russian, Moscow

☆ Ethnic Armenians will leave Nagorno-Karabakh, adviser to their leader says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A view shows a border-crossing point on the frontier between Armenia and Azerbaijan and a base of Russian peacekeepers deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh as seen from a road near the village of Kornidzor, Armenia, September 23, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Sept 24 (Reuters) - The ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh will leave for Armenia as they do not want to live as part of Azerbaijan and fear ethnic cleansing, the leadership of the breakaway region told Reuters on Sunday. 99.9% prefer to leave our historic lands," David Babayan, an adviser to Samvel Shahramanyan, the president of the self-styled "Republic of Artsakh". He said it was unclear when the 120,000 of Karabakh Armenians would move down the Lachin corridor. Those responsible for our fate will one day have to answer before God for their sins."

Persons: Irakli, David Babayan, Samvel Shahramanyan, Guy Faulconbridge Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Nagorno, Karabakh, Kornidzor, Republic, Artsakh

[1/5] A view shows a border-crossing point on the frontier between Armenia and Azerbaijan and a base of Russian peacekeepers deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh as seen from a road near the village of Kornidzor, Armenia, September 23, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze Acquire Licensing RightsSummary Ethnic Armenians to leave Karabakh - leadership120,000 people could move into ArmeniaProcess of giving up weapons is underwayNEAR KORNIDZOR, Armenia, Sept 24 (Reuters) - The 120,000 ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh will leave for Armenia as they do not want to live as part of Azerbaijan and fear ethnic cleansing, the leadership of the breakaway region told Reuters on Sunday. Azerbaijan says it will guarantee their rights and integrate the region but the leadership of the Armenians in Karabakh told Reuters that they would leave. He said it was unclear when the Karabakh Armenians would move down the Lachin corridor which links the territory to Armenia, where Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has faced calls to resign for failing to save Karabakh. Azerbaijan, which is mainly Muslim, has said the Armenians, who are Christian, can leave if they want.

Persons: Irakli, David Babayan, Samvel Shahramanyan, Nikol Pashinyan, Babayan, Pashinyan, Felix Light, Guy Faulconbridge, Lidia Kelly, William Mallard, Peter Graff Organizations: REUTERS, Karabakh, Reuters, Sunday, Soviets, International Committee, Thomson Locations: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Nagorno, Karabakh, Kornidzor, KORNIDZOR, Soviet Union, Republic of Artsakh, Russians, Ottomans, South Caucasus, Russia, United States, Turkey, Iran, Moscow

☆ Fleeing bombs and death, Armenians recount fear and hunger
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Petya Grigoryan is one of the first ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh to make it to Armenia after a lightning 24-hour Azerbaijani military operation defeated the Karabakh Armenian forces. The ethnic Armenians of Karabakh, internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, say they will not live as part of Azerbaijan and that almost all of the 120,000 Armenians there will leave for Armenia. Grigoryan, a 69-year-old driver, said his Kochoghot village in what the Armenians know as the Martakert district of Karabakh was pummelled by Azerbaijan armed forces. Grigoryan and thousands of other Armenians made their way to the airport near the Karabakh capital, known as Stepanakert by Armenians and Khankendi by Azerbaijan, where some Russian peacekeepers are based. Then the Azerbaijan military shelled the Shosh village where he was staying.

Persons: Irakli, Grigoryan, Ilham Aliyev, Guy Faulconbridge, David Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Karabakh, Russian, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Goris, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Grigoryan, Martakert, pummelled, Khankendi, Leninakan

☆ Explainer: Why are 120,000 people about to move from Nagorno-Karabakh?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Sept 24 (Reuters) - The 120,000 ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh will leave for Armenia as they do not want to live as part of Azerbaijan and fear ethnic cleansing, the leadership of the breakaway region told Reuters on Sunday. As the Soviet Union crumbled, what is known as the First Karabakh War erupted (1988-1994) between Armenians and their Azerbaijan. If 120,000 people go down the Lachin corridor to Armenia, the small South Caucasian country could face a humanitarian crisis. It was not immediately clear where 120,000 people could be housed in Armenia, whose population is just 2.8 million, ahead of winter. Many Armenians blame Pashinyan, who lost a 2020 war to Azerbaijan over Karabakh, for losing Karabakh.

Persons: Irakli, David Babayan, Samvel Shahramanyan, Babayan, Nikol Pashinyan, Pashinyan, Ilham Aliyev, Armenia's Pashinyan, Guy Faulconbridge, Bernadette Baum Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Russian, Armenian, International Committee, Karabakh, stoke, NATO, Thomson Locations: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Nagorno, Karabakh, Kornidzor, Republic of Artsakh, Soviet Union, AZERBAIJAN, South Caucasus, Russia, United States, Turkey, Iran, Moscow, Yerevan, Russian

☆ U.S. Senator Peters expresses concern about Nagorno-Karabakh situation
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEAR KORNIDZOR, Armenia, Sept 23 (Reuters) - A U.S. senator, leading a congressional delegation to the Armenia-Azerbaijan border on Saturday, said international observers were needed to monitor the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, adding that people were "very fearful" about what was happening there. Gary Peters, a U.S. senator leading a congressional delegation to the Armenia-Azerbaijan frontier to monitor the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, uses binoculars to look at a border-crossing point on a road near the village of Kornidzor, Armenia, September 23, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze Acquire Licensing Rights"I am certainly very concerned about what’s happening in Nagorno-Karabakh right now, I think there needs to be some visibility," Gary Peters, a Democrat from Michigan, told reporters on the border. Russia said earlier that Armenian fighters in Karabakh had started to give up arms as some humanitarian aid reached the 120,000 Armenians living there after Azerbaijan defeated their forces. Reporting by Felix Light; Writing by Alexander Marrow Editing by Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Gary Peters, Irakli, Felix Light, Alexander Marrow, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Democrat, Azerbaijan, Thomson Locations: KORNIDZOR, Armenia, U.S, Azerbaijan, Nagorno, Karabakh, Kornidzor, Michigan, Russia

☆ Karabakh Armenians say ceasefire being implemented, aid is arriving
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Earlier, the Karabakh Armenians held another round of talks with Azerbaijani officials in the town of Shusha, three days after the ceasefire that followed a lightning 24-hour offensive in which Baku retook control of the mountainous region. Armenians say they fear they will be persecuted if they stay. "Today we were thrown out into the street - they made us vagabonds," Karapetyan told Armenia A1+, a partner of Reuters. Thousands of Karabakh Armenians have massed at the airport seeking the protection of Russian peacekeepers there. "They were shooting on the right, they were shooting on the left - we went out one after another, without taking clothes," she told Armenia A1+.

Persons: Cross, Elshad Hajiyev, Irakli, Gary Peters, We've, Peters, Nikol Pashinyan, Hikmet Hajiyev, Karapetyan, Svetlana Alaverdyan, Guy Faulconbridge, Alexander Marrow, Gareth Jones Organizations: ICRC, Karabakh, International Committee, Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, Democrat, Nagorno, Thomson Locations: Russia, Karabakh, KORNIDZOR, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Shusha, Baku, Artsakh, Moscow, Kornidzor, Michigan, Kusapat, Arajadzor

☆ Russia says Karabakh Armenian fighters start giving up arms
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"The armed formations of Karabakh have begun handing over weapons and military equipment under the control of Russian peacekeepers," said Russia, which has around 2,000 peacekeepers in Karabakh. Russia's defence ministry said so far six armoured vehicles, more than 800 guns, about 5,000 units of ammunition were handed over by the fighters. Armenians in Karabakh told Reuters that they were essentially besieged in the region, with little food, electricity or fuel - and called on big powers to help them. Azerbaijan envisages an amnesty for Karabakh Armenian fighters who give up their arms and has said the Armenians can leave the region for Armenia if they want. Thousands of Karabakh Armenians have massed at the airport seeking the protection of Russian peacekeepers there.

Persons: Irakli, Cross, Nikol Pashinyan, Antony Blinken, Karapetyan, Svetlana Alaverdyan, Guy Faulconbridge, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Karabakh, ICRC, Azerbaijan, International Committee, Reuters, Nagorno, United, Thomson Locations: Armenia, Karabakh, Tegh, Russia, KORNIDZOR, Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Baku, United States, Nagorno, Kusapat, Arajadzor

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