‘It’s a ghost town’: UN arrives in Nagorno-Karabakh to find ethnic Armenians have fled

‘What is left for the UN to monitor?’ asks one refugee who crossed the border to escape

Nearly the entire ethnic Armenian population has left Nagorno-Karabakh, as the first United Nations mission arrived in the largely deserted mountainous region on Sunday.

Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the UN secretary general, said the United Nations team on the ground, the first UN mission to the region in 30 years, would “identify the humanitarian needs” both for people remaining and “the people that are on the move”.

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‘Azerbaijan is hungry for land’: Armenians fear country will seek to grab more territory

After Baku’s success in Nagorno-Karabakh, it could attempt to encroach farther, locals believe

The beehives were in no man’s land. After the border clash near his village in April, Geram drove down to the fields where his family has been farming for decades and kept a small apiary.

But when he got near, he heard gunshots. The Azerbaijanis were firing at him from their new positions on the surrounding hilltops. He ran back to his car and never returned.

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Nagorno-Karabakh: almost a quarter of the region’s population flees into Armenia

Death toll from fuel depot explosion on Monday rises to 68 as ethnic Armenians raise concerns about reprisals from Azerbaijan

Almost a quarter of Nagorno-Karabakh’s population have fled into Armenia since Azerbaijan launched an attack on the breakaway region last week, according to Armenia’s government.

Some 28,000 people – about 23% of the region’s population – scrambled to flee as soon as Azerbaijan lifted a 10-month blockade on the region’s only road to Armenia. That blockade had caused severe shortages of food, medicine and fuel. While Azerbaijan has pledged to respect the rights of Armenians, many residents feared reprisals.

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Nagorno-Karabakh: dozens feared dead and hundreds injured after fuel depot blast

Medical centres in Stepanakert at capacity after explosion, the cause of which remains unknown

Dozens of people are feared dead and hundreds more injured after a powerful explosion at a fuel storage depot in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, as thousands of ethnic Armenians streamed out of the breakaway territory after the Azerbaijani military reclaimed full control of it in a lightning offensive last week.

Most of those wounded were in a “severe or extremely severe” condition after the blast at the facility near the regional capital of Stepanakert on Monday evening, according to the Armenian health ministry. The death toll from the blast is expected to rise significantly, with more than 100 still listed as missing.

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Nagorno-Karabakh: food and other aid arrives as talks resume

Armenians in region have been without adequate food or fuel supplies for months due to blockade by Azerbaijani forces

A Red Cross aid convoy headed to Nagorno-Karabakh on Saturday, the first since Azerbaijan retook the breakaway region three days ago, as ethnic Armenians there complained of being abandoned by the world.

The Armenians of Karabakh, which is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, were forced to declare a ceasefire on 20 September after a lightning 24-hour military operation by the much larger Azerbaijani military.

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Nagorno-Karabakh: ceasefire agreed after dozens killed in military offensive

Deal includes provisions for local Armenian government to disband its local military, in capitulation to Azerbaijan

A ceasefire agreement has been reached a day after Azerbaijan launched a new military offensive against the local Armenian government in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, potentially averting a wider war but threatening the long-term existence of the ethnic Armenian enclave there.

The agreement took effect at 1pm local time and includes provisions for the local Armenian government to disband its local military, in a capitulation to Azerbaijan.

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Azerbaijan launches ‘anti-terrorist’ campaign in disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region

Bombardment of blockaded region could reopen 2020 war in which land was taken from Armenian population

Azerbaijan has said it has launched an “anti-terrorist” campaign in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, as bombing raids were reported in the regional capital of Stepanakert and at other Armenian positions.

The bombardment of the blockaded region, which local Armenians call Artsakh, could reopen a bloody 2020 war in which Azerbaijan retook land from a local Armenian population amid widespread accusations of war crimes.

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Health of LSE academic detained in Azerbaijan at risk, say family

Son calls on UK to intervene in case of Gubad Ibadoghlu, critic of Azerbaijani government who was arrested there in July

The family of a UK-based Azerbaijani academic and prominent opposition figure have raised concerns over his health after he was detained during a visit to the country and have called on the UK government to intervene.

Gubad Ibadoghlu, a senior visiting fellow at the London School of Economics, was arrested and held by Azerbaijan authorities while visiting family in July. He is facing up to 12 years in prison for the production, acquisition or sale of counterfeit money by an organized group and allegedly possessing extremist material – charges he denies.

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Armenian and Azeri soldiers clash near contested Nagorno-Karabakh region

Rivals have accused each other of initiating fire which killed seven people

South Caucasus rivals Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of initiating a fatal clash around the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region which killed seven soldiers.

The two neighbours – both formerly part of the Soviet Union – have fought repeatedly over the last 35 years for control of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but home to a mainly ethnic Armenian population.

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Azerbaijan sues Armenia for wartime environmental damage

Case brought under Bern convention on nature may set precedent for destruction of biodiversity in war

Azerbaijan has launched a landmark legal challenge against Armenia for allegedly destroying its environment and biodiversity during nearly three decades of occupation of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

An international tribunal will consider evidence of widespread environmental destruction during the conflict between the two nations, including deforestation and pollution, and will be asked to order Armenia to pay reparations.

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Qantas flight recovering stranded passengers from Azerbaijan finally lands in London

It comes as another Qantas flight leaving Sydney for London on Christmas Day was delayed from taking off due to a technical issue

A Qantas plane that was sent to Azerbaijan to recover passengers stranded after an emergency landing has finally arrived in London on Christmas morning, but a string of challenges has frustrated holiday plans for those onboard.

As relieved passengers queued at Baku airport to board what would be a six-hour flight to London on Sunday morning, the original Qantas plane that flew them to Baku remained on the ground, as engineers continue to be puzzled by the cause behind smoke detection alarms that forced the plane to make an emergency landing.

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Qantas plane en route to London makes emergency landing in Azerbaijan

Flight QF1 landed safely at Baku airport and was met by emergency services on the runway

Qantas pilots on a flight from Singapore to London were forced to make an emergency landing in Baku, Azerbaijan as their plane was flying over central Asia on Friday, due to concerns there was smoke in the cargo hold.

Flight QF1 landed safely at Baku’s Heydar Aliyev international airport and was met by emergency services on the runway, after pilots reported 7700 – a code used to communicate an onboard emergency to air traffic controllers.

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Putin’s grip on regional allies loosens again after Armenia snub

Damaging optics of ‘family’ photo at CSTO summit highlights fragility of Russia’s influence in wake of war in Ukraine

Armenia has asked the French president, Emmanuel Macron, to chair peace talks with Azerbaijan in a fresh challenge to Vladimir Putin’s increasingly loose grip on Russia’s regional allies in the wake of the war in Ukraine.

The snub from a traditional ally to Putin, who had hosted an inconsequential meeting of the warring countries’ leaders last month, comes immediately on the back of his disastrous summit with six former Soviet states.

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Former Soviet states eye opportunities as Russia struggles in Ukraine

Moscow’s influence in the Caucasus and central Asia is being unravelled by its ‘special military operation’

The rout of the Russian army in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region seems likely to be a turning point in Kyiv’s battle to kick Russian troops out of the country, but it may also cause much broader fallout for Moscow in the wider region, as other former Soviet countries witness what appears to be the limits of Moscow’s capabilities.

“The power of the Russian flag has declined considerably, and the security system across the former Soviet space does seem to be broken,” said Laurence Broers, associate fellow at Chatham House.

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About 100 troops killed in clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan

Escalation of hostilities between south Caucasus countries prompts Russia and US to call for restraint

Fighting on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan has killed about 100 troops as attacks on both sides fed fears of broader hostilities breaking out between the longtime adversaries.

Armenia said at least 49 of its soldiers were killed; Azerbaijan said it lost 50.

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EU urges member states to slash gas use by 15% to counter ‘Russian blackmail’

Call for voluntary cut until March 2023 with binding reduction targets possible when Moscow ‘likely’ halts supplies

The European Union’s executive body has urged member states to slash their gas consumption by 15%, as it warned that a complete shutdown of Russian supplies was “likely”.

The EU has been scrambling to wean itself off Russian gas since the invasion of Ukraine, but is alarmed about a potential energy crisis this winter.

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Human rights groups criticise EU’s Azerbaijan gas deal

Agreement with autocratic ruler to double supplies within five years comes as EU seeks to reduce reliance on Russian energy

Human rights groups have criticised an EU deal to ramp up gas supplies from Azerbaijan, as Europe scrambles to secure non-Russian sources of energy.

The European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, on Monday hailed Azerbaijan as a “crucial” and “reliable” energy supplier, as she announced an agreement with Baku to expand the southern gas corridor, the 3,500km pipeline bringing Caspian Sea gas to Europe.

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Armenia polls upheld by court as opposition loses appeal

Verdict endorses victory of acting prime minister Nikol Pashinyan’s party in last month’s parliamentary vote

Armenia’s constitutional court on Saturday rejected an appeal challenging the results of the country’s snap parliamentary election.

The court’s verdict upheld the victory of acting prime minister Nikol Pashinyan’s party in last month’s vote.

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Azerbaijan says ‘mud volcano’ caused Caspian Sea explosion

Caspian Sea has high concentration of mud volcanoes, which spew both mud and flammable gas

A strong explosion has shaken the Caspian Sea area where Azerbaijan has extensive offshore oil and gas fields.

The cause of the blast, which caused a column of fire to rise into the sky late on Sunday, was not immediately determined, but the state oil company Socar said preliminary information indicated it was a mud volcano. Socar said none of its platforms were damaged in the explosion.

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‘What if someone buried my son?’ Anguish of search for Armenia’s war dead

Overwhelmed labs struggle to process DNA tests after Nagorno-Karabakh war leaves 5,000 dead

Eight months after the end of the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh that left more than 5,000 people dead, many soldiers are still missing. In Armenia, families are desperately looking for news about their loved ones. There is a growing lack of trust around DNA tests and a lack of information, leading to mounting pressure on the government.

Larissa Dureyan has been looking for her 20-year-old son Mxitar since October. He began his mandatory military service in July 2019 and was serving in Fizuli when war broke out in September last year.

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