UN mission arrives in Karabakh, first visit in 30 years: Azerbaijan

A UN delegation arrived in Nagorno-Karabakh on Sunday, according to Azerbaijan, after nearly the entire ethnic-Armenian population evacuated since Baku reclaimed the separatist province. According to an Azerbaijani presidential official, a “UN mission arrived in Karabakh on Sunday morning” to examine humanitarian needs. The international organisation has gotten access to the region for the first time in roughly 30 years. Following a one-day Azerbaijani onslaught last week, the region’s Armenian separatists decided to disarm, dissolve their government, and reintegrate with Baku. The failure of Karabakh’s breakaway effort delivered a devastating blow to Armenians’ centuries-old ambition of rejoining what they claim are their ancestral territories, which have been partitioned among regional rulers since the Middle Ages. Nearly all of Karabakh’s estimated 120,000 residents fled the territory over the following days, sparking a refugee crisis. On Sunday, Armenia observed a national day of prayer for the region. Bells tolled in churches across the country, and the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Karekin II, led a service in the nation’s main cathedral Echmiadzin, close to the capital Yerevan. Clergymen in ornate robes sang ancient chants at an open-air altar outside the imposing cathedral built in pale pink limestone. Yerevan has accused Baku of “ethnic cleansing” – an allegation that Baku rejected – calling on Armenians not to leave their homes and reintegrate with Azerbaijan where their rights would be respected. Armenia, a country of 2.8 million, faces a major challenge housing the sudden influx of refugees. Authorities said 35,000 were now in temporary accommodation. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies on Friday announced an emergency appeal for 20 million Swiss Francs ($22 million) to help those fleeing. Azerbaijan is now holding “re-integration” talks with separatist leaders while at the same time detaining some senior figures from its former government and military command.