A little more than a week after the military operation led by Azerbaijan, and while thousands of displaced people continue to flow into Armenia, the self-proclaimed separatist republic of Nagorno Karabakh announced this Thursday, September 28, that it would dissolve all its institutions from January 1, 2024.
The decree of the leader of this enclave announces the dissolution “of all government institutions and organizations […] on January 1, 2024” and that consequently “the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) ceases to exist”.
A military defeat
The Armenian separatists of Nagorno Karabakh suffered a military defeat in twenty-four hours last week which forced them to capitulate to Azerbaijan, a country from which they seceded after the fall of the USSR, more than thirty years.
Armenia, which supported this territory for these decades, did not intervene militarily this time, paving the way for the region’s reintegration into Azerbaijan.
The Lachin corridor, the path of the displaced people of Nagorno Karabakh
© / afp.com/Nalini LEPETIT-CHELLA, Sophie RAMIS, Laurence SAUBADU
An exodus in progress
The Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh has begun an exodus: around 65,000 people, or half of the approximately 120,000 residents, fled in a few days, for fear of being the target of Azerbaijani repression, despite Baku’s promises to respect their rights.
In his decree dissolving the self-proclaimed republic, the separatist leader emphasizes that once the conditions for the region’s return to Azerbaijan’s control are known, residents and refugees will be able to “individually make the decision to stay or return in Nagorno Karabakh.