NNA – An ethnic Armenian exodus has nearly emptied Nagorno-Karabakh of residents since Azerbaijan attacked and ordered the breakaway regionrsquo;s militants to disarm, the Armenian government said Saturday.
Nazeli Baghdasaryan, the press secretary to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, said 100,417 people had arrived in Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh, which had a population of around 120,000 before Azerbaijan reclaimed the region in a lightning offensive last week.
A total of 21,043 vehicles had crossed the Hakari Bridge, which links Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, since last week, Baghdasaryan said. Some lined up for days because the winding mountain road that is the only route to Armenia became jammed.
The departure of more than 80% of Nagorno-Karabakh#39;s population raises questions about Azerbaijanrsquo;s plans for the enclave that was internationally recognized as part of its territory. The region#39;s separatist ethnic Armenian government said Thursday it would dissolve itself by the end of the year after a three-decade bid for independence.
Pashinyan has alleged the ethnic Armenian exodus amounted to ldquo;a direct act of an ethnic cleansing and depriving people of their motherland.rdquo; Azerbaijanrsquo;s Foreign Ministry strongly rejected the characterization, saying the mass migration by the region#39;s residents was ldquo;their personal and individual decision and has nothing to do with forced relocation.rdquo;
In a related development, Azerbaijani authorities on Friday arrested the former foreign minister of Nagorno-Karabakhrsquo;s separatist government, presidential advisor David Babayan, Azerbaijanrsquo;s Prosecutor Generalrsquo;s Office said Saturday.
Babayan#39;s arrest follows the Azerbaijani border guard#39;s detention of the former head of Nagorno-Karabakhrsquo;s separatist government, State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, as he tried to cross into Armenia on Wednesday.
The arrests appear to reflect Azerbaijanrsquo;s intention to quickly enforce its grip on the region after the military offensive. — Asharq Al-Awsat
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