[1/6]Residents drive vehicles as they depart the town of Stepanakert following a army operation performed by Azerbaijani armed forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, a area inhabited by ethnic Armenians, September 24, 2023. REUTERS/David Ghahramanyan Acquire Licensing Rights
GORIS, Armenia, Sept 25 (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is to meet his ally, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, on Monday, as thousands of ethnic Armenians fled Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan defeated the breakaway area’s fighters final week.
Erdogan pays a one-day go to to Azerbaijan’s autonomous Nakhchivan exclave – a strip of Azeri territory nestled amongst Armenia, Iran and Turkey – to talk about with Aliyev the state of affairs within the Karabakh area, the Turkish president’s workplace stated.
The Armenians of Karabakh, a territory internationally recognised as a part of Azerbaijan however beforehand past its management, had been compelled right into a ceasefire final week after a 24-hour army operation by the much-larger Azerbaijani army.
On Sunday, the Nagorno-Karabakh management informed Reuters the area’s 120,000 Armenians didn’t need to reside as a part of Azerbaijan for worry of persecution and ethnic cleaning and began fleeing the world.
As of 5 a.m. (0100 GMT) on Monday, greater than 2,900 folks had crossed into Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian authorities stated in a press release.
Russia’s RIA information company cited early on Monday an Armenian authorities assertion saying that greater than 1,500 folks had crossed into Armenia from Nagorno-Karabkah as of midnight (2000 GMT).
Those with gas had began to drive down the Lachin hall towards the border with Armenia, in accordance to a Reuters reporter within the Karabakh capital, recognized as Stepanakert by Armenia and Khankendi by Azerbaijan.
Reuters footage confirmed dozens of vehicles driving out of the capital towards the hall’s mountainous curves.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars over the enclave in 30 years – with Azerbaijan gaining again swathes of territory in and round Nagorno-Karabakh in a six-week battle in 2020.
Erdogan, who backed the Azeris with weaponry within the 2020 battle, stated final week he supported the goals of the Azerbaijan’s newest army operation however performed no half in it.
Armenia says greater than 200 folks had been killed and 400 wounded in final week’s Azeri operation, a hostility condemned by the United States and different Western allies of Armenia.
On Sunday, Azerbaijan’s defence ministry stated it had confiscated extra army tools from Armenian separatists, together with rockets, artillery shells, mines and ammunition.
The Karabakh Armenians don’t settle for Azerbaijan’s promise to assure their rights as the area is built-in. Armenia referred to as for an instantaneous deployment of a U.N. mission to monitor human rights and safety within the area.
“Ninety-nine point nine percent prefer to leave our historic lands,” David Babayan, an adviser to Samvel Shahramanyan, president of the self-styled Republic of Artsakh, informed Reuters.
Additional reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne;
Writing by Lidia Kelly;
Editing by Michael Perry and Gerry Doyle
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