YEREVAN — Amid the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh and the nationwide policy of ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijan’s Armenian population, forcing thousands to flee their country, a powerful explosion ripped through a fuel storage facility near from Stepanakert.
Hundreds of people lined up outside the fuel facility where the explosion occurred because they had been promised fuel – a shortage during more than nine months of blockade – for their cars so they could travel in Armenia.
Following the explosion, 290 patients suffering from burns of varying degrees were admitted to different hospitals. According to Ministry of Health of Artsakh, at least seven patients died in hospital. Dozens of people are still in critical condition. 13 unrecognized bodies were transferred to the Forensic Examination Bureau. Many people are missing because they were burned following the explosion.
Artak Beglaryan, former Minister of State and Human Rights Ombudsman of Artsakh reported that on Tuesday, 168 patients injured in the fuel depot explosion were evacuated to Yerevan – 96 by Armenian and Russian helicopters and 72 by Armenian ambulances with the support of the International Committee of the Red Cross. There are 68 confirmed deaths. Meanwhile, the bodies of 125 soldiers who gave their lives to protect Artsakh were transferred to Armenia on Wednesday. According to consolidated data from requests to Artsakh information centers, the fate of 105 Armenians following the explosion is unknown.
🔴The situation in hospitals #Stepanakert It’s absolutely catastrophic!
Shortage of medical personnel, panic, people trying to find their loved ones who were victims of the explosion. Very high number of injured.
🔴We need urgent airlift by helicopter as soon as possible, otherwise many will die! pic.twitter.com/6l6OCEckXN
– Siranush Sargsyan (@SiranushSargsy1) September 25, 2023
Weekly contributor Siranush Sargsyan said the situation in Artsakh hospitals following the explosion is “catastrophic.” “Shortage of medical personnel, panic, people trying to find their loved ones who were victims of the explosion,” she said. wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The explosion came hours after the second round of talks between Azerbaijani officials and Artsakh representatives was held on Monday in the town of Ivanyan, just north of Stepanakert. The first round was held last week in Yevlakh, where a agreement was concluded on the withdrawal of the remaining units and servicemen of the Armenian Armed Forces from Artsakh, the dismantling and complete disarmament of the Artsakh Defense Army, as well as the withdrawal of heavy equipment and weapons from the territory of Artsakh.
The deal was reached 24 hours after Azerbaijan launched an assault on Artsakh on September 19, heavily bombarding civilian settlements and infrastructure. Azerbaijan’s military offensive and shelling of civilians have cost many lives, enabled mass displacement and sparked unrest in the region.
Another major humanitarian crisis is looming. By Wednesday afternoon, around 50,000 Armenians had been strength to flee their homes in Artsakh, for fear of living under Azerbaijani domination, among a population of 120,000 inhabitants. Although Azerbaijan has made numerous statements about the “peaceful integration” of ethnic Armenians into Azerbaijani society, decades of conflict and atrocities as well as recent events have proven otherwise.
Many videos circulating on Telegram channels show inhumane acts carried out by Azerbaijani soldiers against ethnic Armenian civilians, soldiers and establishments. Two Azerbaijani soldiers licensed in a 13th-century monastery in the village of Charektar in the Shahumyan region of Artsakh, Caucasus Heritage Watch reported on Wednesday on Armenian and must be investigated and brought to justice,” the organization said in a statement.
As Azerbaijan’s policy of ethnic cleansing continues to threaten the lives of ethnic Armenians remaining in the region, thousands of families have been forced to flee their homes, taking only important items – leaving their homes behind family and their means of subsistence. In order to honor his memory and prevent its desecration by Azerbaijan, citizens reportedly deleted the monument of national hero Monte Melkonyan in the Martuni region of Artsakh and plan to take it with them to Armenia.
The mass exodus of Armenians from Artsakh is only the beginning of another serious humanitarian crisis. As families flee to save their lives and those of their children from another genocide, traffic jams on the road to Kornidzor have already caused the the death of an elderly man.
After long hours of travel, Armenians from Artsakh must pass through the checkpoint illegally placed by Azerbaijan on the Hakari Bridge at the entrance to the Berdzor (Lachin) corridor to reach the registration and first aid centers set up by the Red Cross and local organizations.
The small village of Kornidzor in the Syunik region, the southernmost region of Armenia, became the first stop on the path of forced migration of Armenians from Artsakh. Due to the lack of fuel and buses, thousands of people arrive in Armenia sitting in the back of trucks.
The first registration point for the Artsakh population was in the town of Goris until Tuesday evening, when humanitarian organizations announced that due to the large number of people coming from Artsakh, the resources of Goris had reached their maximum capacity and the new save point will now be within Vayk.
Volunteers on the ground in Syunik advise all Armenians to register their problems in detail at registration points, including medical, psychological and domestic. They also advise all people to seek a medical examination and for those collecting aid to send warm clothing that can be distributed to people during registration, before the cold winter months.
As this humanitarian crisis develops, the Armenian Weekly will continue to monitor developments and provide first-hand reports on displaced families from Artsakh.
Hoory Minoyan was an active member of the Armenian community in Los Angeles until she moved to Armenia before the 44 Day War. She earned a master’s degree in international affairs from Boston University, where she also received the William R. Keylor Traveling Fellowship. The research and interviews she conducted in Armenia later became the basis of her master’s thesis, “Shaping Identity through Conflict: The Armenian Experience.” Hoory continues to pursue his passion for research and writing by contributing to the Armenian Weekly.
