More than 200 people were wounded on Monday in a fuel depot explosion in Azerbaijan’s breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, the human rights ombudsman for the region said.
The cause of the explosion could not immediately be determined, and it was not clear if there were any fatalities, but Armenian separatist officials said, “There are victims and wounded.”“A strong explosion occurred in the gasoline warehouse near the Stepanakert-Askera highway,” the authorities said in a statement.
“At the moment, rescue and medical operative groups are working on the spot.” Stepanakert is the capital of the breakaway region.
The blast comes as thousands of ethnic Armenians have been fleeing the breakaway region since the weekend to cross the border into Armenia, days after a military offensive brought the enclave back under Azerbaijan’s control.
Persons:
”, “, Stepanakert
Locations:
Karabakh, Armenia