UN Mission Arrived In Nagorno-Karabakh

On Sunday, October 1, a UN mission arrived in Nagorno-Karabakh. For the first time in 30 years, a delegation from this international organization visited the region.

This was stated by UN official Stephane Dujarric and then confirmed by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov. The mission comes after most of the population of the Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan fled as a result of a short war in the area that ended with Armenian separatists laying down arms.

A UN mission led by UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan Vladanka Andreeva is on the site to assess humanitarian needs. The green light from Baku for the arrival of the contingent came only at the end of last week.

Armenian separatists controlled Nagorno-Karabakh since the collapse of the USSR and now capitulated a few hours after the lightning actions by the Azerbaijani military. Nagorno-Karabakh President Samvel Shahramanyan announced on September 28 that he had signed a decree that determined the end of the self-proclaimed republic and its dissolution on January 1, 2024. It is estimated that the short conflict resulted in about 600 deaths, while the ensuing exodus involved 100,000 out of 120,000 residents of the area. Fearing possible retaliation, they fled to Armenia, where the risk of a serious humanitarian crisis remains.