Yerevan, Armenia

The death toll from an explosion and fire at a fuel depot in Nagorno-Karabakh on Monday had jumped to 125, reported the local media on Tuesday (Sep 26), citing the Armenian health ministry. 

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The United States and the United Nations called on Azerbaijan to protect civilians and let humanitarian aid into the breakaway region. 

Armenian officials said over 28,000 entered Armenia after separatist forces in the breakaway enclave were defeated in a lightning offensive by Azerbaijan last week. 

Death toll rises to 125 

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The Armenian health ministry, as per Interfax Azerbaijan, said that at least 125 people have been killed after a blast at a fuel depot in the Nagorno-Karabakh region on Monday (Sep 25). 

The number rose sharply after separatist authorities reported 20 dead on Tuesday morning. The Armenian health ministry said that the bodies of those killed in the blast have been transported to Armenia. 

The explosion had resulted in hundreds of burn victims, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), while the health department said that nearly 300 people had been admitted to hospitals. 

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Over 28,000 refugees arrive in Armenia

Azerbaijan, on Tuesday (Sept 19) launched a military operation against the separatist Armenians, who have claimed part of Karabakh – internationally recognised as Azerbaijani territory – as their ancestral homeland. 

The operation has prompted 120,000 ethnic Armenians in the region to flee amid fears of repression and “ethnic cleansing”. As of 1600 GMT on Tuesday, 28,120 refugees have so far arrived from the breakaway region, said the Armenian government, as per Reuters. 

Hundreds of cars and buses packed with belongings were seen snaking down the mountain road out of Azerbaijan. “The whole way the children were crying, they were hungry,” grandmother-of-four Narine Shakaryan told Reuters at the border. 

She also said that the 77-kilometre drive to the border had taken them 24 hours and they had no food. “We left so we would stay alive, not to live.” 

Ethnic Armenians have given harrowing accounts of fleeing death, war and hunger as rushed to leave the Karabakh capital – Stepanakert by Armenia and Khankendi by Azerbaijan. 

Azerbaijan looks for ‘war crime’ suspects: Report

In a sea of refugees, Azerbaijan has sought to look for “war crime” suspects, according to a report by AFP noting that on a tour organised by the Azerbaijani government on Tuesday, they saw most of those crossing the border being women with children and the elderly.

Whereas, some Armenian men in their 20s and 30s were forced to stare into a camera for identification at the last Azerbaijani border post. 

“Azerbaijan intends to apply an amnesty to Armenian fighters who laid down their arms in Karabakh,” an Azerbaijani government source told AFP.

“But those who committed war crimes during the Karabakh wars must be handed over to us,” said the source. 

Calls to safeguard citizens

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the rights of Armenians fleeing Karabakh must be protected. “The Secretary-General is very concerned about the displacement of people we are seeing in Armenia,” said spokesman Stephane Dujarric. 

He added, “First of all, it’s essential that the rights of the displaced populations be protected and that they receive humanitarian support.” 

Similarly, US Agency for International Development (USAID) chief Samantha Power in Yerevan called for Baku “to maintain the ceasefire and take concrete steps to protect the rights of civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh.” 

(With inputs from agencies)

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