On Tuesday, Azerbaijan launched a military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region in the southern Caucasus that lies within Azerbaijan’s borders but is effectively a breakaway region under the wing of Armenia, with a predominantly Armenian population.
The area has been at the center of a decades-long territorial conflict between the countries and two wars have been fought over the area.
Armenia states that 32 people were killed and that over 200 people were injured in connection with the operation, reports AFP – and that civilians and children are among the victims.
The indigenous population said on Wednesday they were agreeing to lay down their weapons to end the fighting, and on Thursday a first round of talks was held on the future of the disputed breakaway region.
The Azerbaijani side claims that Thursday’s meeting ended in a positive spirit – but the anxiety on the ground remains high.
Emma tells about the horror
Emma Zacharian from Malmö has family in Nagorno-Karabakh. In After five, she talks about the fear of her loved ones.
– During the first day, we could not locate one of the cousins. When the bombs started to fall, the children were in schools, which meant that many parents could not get hold of them. Finally we managed to locate the daughter, then she was in the school’s basement. There were terrible hours there, she says.
– Now they have nowhere to go. They want a safe passage in Armenia, a humanitarian corridor, now that they are forced to leave their homes. Nobody wants to stay with Azerbaijani soldiers. They want to be able to leave their home with dignity.
Rasmus Canbäck, journalist for Blankspot, has received the same picture of the situation in the area.
– Those I have spoken to tell similar stories that Emma has retold. They say they don’t know where to go. There are 10,000 people who have become homeless in recent days, he says in Efter fem.