Almost all of Nagorno-Karabakh’s people have left, Armenia’s government says
An ethnic Armenian woman from Nagorno-Karabakh stands near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, late Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh sit near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, late Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Ethnic Armenian family from Nagorno-Karabakh are helped to leave a truck with their belongings after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Ethnic Armenian children from Nagorno-Karabakh sit next to their belongings near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh sit next to their belongings near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh sit next to their belongings near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
People attend a rally in support of the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government Ruben Vardanyan, in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. On Thursday, Sept. 26, Azerbaijani authorities charged Ruben Vardanyan, the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government, with financing terrorism, creating illegal armed formations and illegally crossing a state border. A day earlier, he was detained by Azerbaijani border guards as he was trying to leave Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia along with tens of thousands of others. (Vahram Baghdasaryan/Photolure via AP)
People march during a rally in support of the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government Ruben Vardanyan, in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. On Thursday, Sept. 26, Azerbaijani authorities charged Ruben Vardanyan, the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government, with financing terrorism, creating illegal armed formations and illegally crossing a state border. A day earlier, he was detained by Azerbaijani border guards as he was trying to leave Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia along with tens of thousands of others. (Vahram Baghdasaryan/Photolure via AP)
People march during a rally in support of the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government Ruben Vardanyan, in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. On Thursday, Sept. 26, Azerbaijani authorities charged Ruben Vardanyan, the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government, with financing terrorism, creating illegal armed formations and illegally crossing a state border. A day earlier, he was detained by Azerbaijani border guards as he was trying to leave Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia along with tens of thousands of others. (Vahram Baghdasaryan/Photolure via AP)
An ethnic Armenian woman from Nagorno-Karabakh rests next to her belongings near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh gather next to their belongings near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Ethnic Armenian man and woman from Nagorno-Karabakh talk to each other sitting near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
An ethnic Armenian man from Nagorno-Karabakh sits near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, late Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
An ethnic Armenian woman from Nagorno-Karabakh warms herself near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, late Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Demonstrators listen to a speaker as they gather at the Republic Square to protest against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. (Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure via AP)
An ethnic Armenian woman from Nagorno-Karabakh stands near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, late Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
An ethnic Armenian woman from Nagorno-Karabakh stands near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, late Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh sit near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, late Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh sit near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, late Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Ethnic Armenian family from Nagorno-Karabakh are helped to leave a truck with their belongings after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Ethnic Armenian family from Nagorno-Karabakh are helped to leave a truck with their belongings after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Ethnic Armenian children from Nagorno-Karabakh sit next to their belongings near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Ethnic Armenian children from Nagorno-Karabakh sit next to their belongings near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh sit next to their belongings near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh sit next to their belongings near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh sit next to their belongings near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh sit next to their belongings near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
People attend a rally in support of the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government Ruben Vardanyan, in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. On Thursday, Sept. 26, Azerbaijani authorities charged Ruben Vardanyan, the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government, with financing terrorism, creating illegal armed formations and illegally crossing a state border. A day earlier, he was detained by Azerbaijani border guards as he was trying to leave Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia along with tens of thousands of others. (Vahram Baghdasaryan/Photolure via AP)
People attend a rally in support of the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government Ruben Vardanyan, in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. On Thursday, Sept. 26, Azerbaijani authorities charged Ruben Vardanyan, the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government, with financing terrorism, creating illegal armed formations and illegally crossing a state border. A day earlier, he was detained by Azerbaijani border guards as he was trying to leave Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia along with tens of thousands of others. (Vahram Baghdasaryan/Photolure via AP)
People march during a rally in support of the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government Ruben Vardanyan, in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. On Thursday, Sept. 26, Azerbaijani authorities charged Ruben Vardanyan, the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government, with financing terrorism, creating illegal armed formations and illegally crossing a state border. A day earlier, he was detained by Azerbaijani border guards as he was trying to leave Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia along with tens of thousands of others. (Vahram Baghdasaryan/Photolure via AP)
People march during a rally in support of the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government Ruben Vardanyan, in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. On Thursday, Sept. 26, Azerbaijani authorities charged Ruben Vardanyan, the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government, with financing terrorism, creating illegal armed formations and illegally crossing a state border. A day earlier, he was detained by Azerbaijani border guards as he was trying to leave Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia along with tens of thousands of others. (Vahram Baghdasaryan/Photolure via AP)
People march during a rally in support of the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government Ruben Vardanyan, in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. On Thursday, Sept. 26, Azerbaijani authorities charged Ruben Vardanyan, the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government, with financing terrorism, creating illegal armed formations and illegally crossing a state border. A day earlier, he was detained by Azerbaijani border guards as he was trying to leave Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia along with tens of thousands of others. (Vahram Baghdasaryan/Photolure via AP)
People march during a rally in support of the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government Ruben Vardanyan, in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. On Thursday, Sept. 26, Azerbaijani authorities charged Ruben Vardanyan, the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government, with financing terrorism, creating illegal armed formations and illegally crossing a state border. A day earlier, he was detained by Azerbaijani border guards as he was trying to leave Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia along with tens of thousands of others. (Vahram Baghdasaryan/Photolure via AP)
An ethnic Armenian woman from Nagorno-Karabakh rests next to her belongings near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
An ethnic Armenian woman from Nagorno-Karabakh rests next to her belongings near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh gather next to their belongings near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh gather next to their belongings near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Ethnic Armenian man and woman from Nagorno-Karabakh talk to each other sitting near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Ethnic Armenian man and woman from Nagorno-Karabakh talk to each other sitting near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
An ethnic Armenian man from Nagorno-Karabakh sits near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, late Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
An ethnic Armenian man from Nagorno-Karabakh sits near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, late Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
An ethnic Armenian woman from Nagorno-Karabakh warms herself near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, late Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
An ethnic Armenian woman from Nagorno-Karabakh warms herself near a tent camp after arriving to Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, late Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. Armenian officials say that by Friday evening over 97,700 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh. The region’s population was around 120,000 before the exodus began. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Demonstrators listen to a speaker as they gather at the Republic Square to protest against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. (Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure via AP)
Demonstrators listen to a speaker as they gather at the Republic Square to protest against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. (Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure via AP)
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — An ethnic Armenian exodus has nearly emptied Nagorno-Karabakh of residents since Azerbaijan attacked and ordered the breakaway region’s militants to disarm, the Armenian government said Saturday.
Nazeli Baghdasaryan, the press secretary to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, said that 100,480 people had arrived in Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh, which had a population of around 120,000 before Azerbaijan reclaimed the region in a lightning offensive last week.
A total of 21,076 vehicles had crossed the Hakari Bridge, which links Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, since last week, Baghdasaryan said. Some lined up for days because the winding mountain road that is the only route to Armenia became jammed.
The departure of more than 80% of Nagorno-Karabakh’s population raises questions about Azerbaijan’s plans for the enclave, which was internationally recognized as part of its territory. The region’s separatist ethnic Armenian government said Thursday it would dissolve itself by the end of the year after a three-decade bid for independence.
Pashinyan has alleged the ethnic Armenian exodus amounted to “a direct act of an ethnic cleansing and depriving people of their motherland.” Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry strongly rejected the characterization, saying the mass migration by the region’s residents was “their personal and individual decision and has nothing to do with forced relocation.”
In a related development, Azerbaijani authorities on Friday arrested the former foreign minister of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government, presidential adviser David Babayan, Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General’s Office said Saturday.
Babayan’s arrest follows the Azerbaijani border guard’s detention of the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government, State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, as he tried to cross into Armenia on Wednesday.
The arrests appear to reflect Azerbaijan’s intention to quickly enforce its grip on the region after the military offensive.
During three decades of conflict in the region, Azerbaijan and the separatists backed by Armenia have accused each other of targeted attacks, massacres and other atrocities, leaving people on both sides deeply suspicious and fearful.
While Azerbaijan has pledged to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, most are fleeing because they don’t trust Azerbaijani authorities to treat them humanely or to guarantee them their language, religion and culture.
After six years of separatist fighting ended in 1994 following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Nagorno-Karabakh came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces, backed by Armenia. Then, during a six-week war in 2020, Azerbaijan took back parts of the region in the south Caucasus Mountains along with surrounding territory that Armenian forces had claimed earlier.
In December, Azerbaijan blocked the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, accusing the Armenian government or using it for illicit weapons shipments to the region’s separatist forces.
Weakened by the blockade and with Armenia’s leadership distancing itself from the conflict, ethnic Armenian forces in the region agreed to lay down arms less than 24 hours after Azerbaijan began its offensive. Talks have begun between officials in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku and Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist authorities on “reintegrating” the region into Azerbaijan.
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Aida Sultanova in Baku, Azerbaijan, and Elise Morton in London, contributed to this report.