2023-09-23 23:44:24
After the end of Azerbaijan’s military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, the first aid convoy reached the disputed Caucasus region on Saturday. A journalist from the AFP news agency saw trucks from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) drive past the Armenian border post of Kornidzor. The vehicles loaded with “70 tons of relief supplies” would bring “humanitarian goods and food” to the people, said local ICRC spokeswoman Zara Amatuni.
The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and the humanitarian care for the local people had recently caused international concern. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) called for a security guarantee for the predominantly Armenian residents of the region, which belongs to Azerbaijan under international law. US officials accused President Ilham Aliyev’s authoritarian leadership of bringing about “a humanitarian catastrophe in Nagorno-Karabakh.”
A spokeswoman for the pro-Armenian authorities described the humanitarian situation as “terrible” on Friday. In the regional capital Stepanakert there is “no electricity, no gas, no food, no fuel, no internet and telephone connection.” A reporter from the AFP news agency reported shortages of food, water, medicine and gasoline.
An adviser to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Friday that Baku had assured the ICRC that it could send aid to the region. On Thursday, Baku’s negotiators promised to deliver urgently needed fuel, humanitarian aid and medical supplies to the region at a meeting with representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh, according to Azerbaijani sources.
On Tuesday, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh. A ceasefire agreement was reached on Wednesday and, according to Russian sources, the pro-Armenian fighters began handing over weapons on Friday. Previously, Nagorno-Karabakh’s de facto authorities said they had accepted negotiations with Baku to integrate the region into neighboring Azerbaijan.
Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan under international law, but the area is predominantly populated by Armenians. Azerbaijan and Armenia have been fighting over the enclave since the collapse of the Soviet Union and have already fought two wars, most recently in 2020.
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