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.

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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