Caucasian Knot | Residents of Armenian villages deprived of medical care because of blocked road

In the Syunik Region, villagers have limited access to food and medical services, as the road from Goris to Kapan has been blocked by Azerbaijani soldiers, the local authorities report.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that the State Border Guard Service of Azerbaijan claimed Armenian soldiers attacked a border guard on the territory of the “Gubadly” border-combat checkpoint. The Armenian side denied the accusations. On August 25, Azerbaijani soldiers blocked a section of the road from Goris to Kapan and stopped cars with residents of Armenia for several hours. The Russian peacekeepers negotiated to get people out of the blocked section of the road. On August 26, the soldiers blocked the second section of the road, and residents of the villages of Vorotan, Shurnukh, and Bartsravan found themselves deprived of a car connection. The blocked villages faced problems with the supply of food.

“The free movement of the population in the villages, including children, women, and the elderly, is seriously limited,” Armenian Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan reported on Facebook.

He called on the Azerbaijani armed forces “to immediately unblock the road and stop massive violations of human rights.” The Ombudsman of Armenia noted there was a danger of a humanitarian crisis in Syunik.

Gevorg Parsyan, Mayor of Kapan city, added that on August 26, the negotiations on the crisis in Syunik ended with no success. “The Azerbaijani side does not voice any logical arguments about the blocking of the road. As a result, more than 50 trucks from Iran remained blocked on the road,” Gevorg Parsyan reported.