PanARMENIAN.Net - 20 families from Berdzor and Aghavno in Nagorno-Karabakh have settled in the Armenian province of Syunik, according to Armine Avagyan, assistant to the Governor of Syunik.

Amid fresh fighting around Nagorno-Karabakh earlier this month, the authorities in Stepanakert said that the Azerbaijani side, through Russian peacekeepers, demanded that a new connection be organized between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia along a new route.

The Lachin corridor currently used as connection between Armenia and Karabakh was supposed to serve its purpose at least until the fall of 2023, but Azerbaijan built a new road and demanded that the corridor be moved now.

Nagorno-Karabakh’s authorities informed the few remaining Armenian residents of the town of Berdzor and the villages of Aghavno and Sus that are situated along the current Lachin corridor that no Russian peacekeepers will be left in the territory after August 25 and, therefore, they needed to leave their homes before the end of the month. However, a top Russian diplomat has said that the peacekeepers were not going to move an inch.

Many of the residents of Berdzor and Agavno have now settled in Syunik, others have moved to settlements where they have relatives, Armenpress reports.

“The last family moved to the province yesterday. So far, the Governorate of Syunik has been assisting them with cargo transportation and finding a shelter,” Avagyan said.

“They have mostly settled in the towns of Goris and Sisian. Tomorrow, the staffers of the Governorate will visit these people to assess their needs and understand who has settled and how”, she said, adding that the Governorate will continue to focus on the problems of these families by trying to find solutions.