Artsakh falls to Azerbaijan, agrees to Russian-brokered ceasefire
The Armenian WeeklySep 20, 2023
The leadership of the contested breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh announced on Sunday that the region's 120K Armenian inhabitants would leave the area after Azerbaijan launched a 24-hour-long offensive last week leading to the surrender of local forces.
Some 4,850 people have reportedly crossed into Armenia from the region as of Monday, and the Armenian government said it was preparing for thousands of refugees. Residents began leaving the territory's de facto capital on Sunday evening via the Lachin corridor toward the border with Armenia.
Hundreds of years of Armenian history will soon be erased as Azerbaijan seeks to ethnically cleanse Nagorno-Karabakh, known as Artsakh to its indigenous Armenian population. The world, yet again, is watching in silence as long-dispossessed people are pushed out of their homeland.
Azerbaijan has finally triumphed and reclaimed its sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh. The goals of this anti-terror operation were to simply dislodge Armenia's military presence in the region and ensure the return of refugees displaced by Armenia in the first war. If civilians choose to leave the region that is their choice, but Azerbaijan has done nothing to indicate that this is its intent, as it only seeks to live in harmony with its neighbors.