Azerbaijan installed a concrete barrier on the Lachin Corridor on June 22

In yet another sign of aggression and attempt to choke the people of Artsakh, Azerbaijan installed a massive concrete barrier on the Lachin corridor late Thursday, completely blocking the only road connecting Artsakh to Armenia, the Artsakh authorities reported.

Last week, two month after illegally installing a checkpoint, Azerbaijan completey barred access to all vehicles, including humanitarian relief efforts by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Russian peacekeeping contingent.

Earlier this week, an armored vehicle was brought in to block the road.

Yesterday, on June 22, the Azerbaijani side engaged in another provocation and committed a criminal act by installing a concrete barrier to block the sole road connecting Artsakh and Armenia (Lachin Corridor), the Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) InfoCenter said in a press release.

“In just one month, Azerbaijan has turned its illegally installed and advertised checkpoint on the road within the Lachin Corridor into a military fortress, with armored vehicles, engineering barriers and armed personnel,” said the Artsakh foreign ministry in a statement on Friday.

“This, once again, demonstrates that all the actions by the Azerbaijani side, including the orchestrated protest of pseudo-activists, blocking of the Stepanakert-Goris road, cutting off gas and electricity supplies from Armenia to Artsakh, targeting of civilians and obstruction of agricultural work in the fields, have been deliberate and pre-planned and are aimed to make the life of Armenians in Artsakh impossible,” the statement added.

“The authorities of the Republic of Artsakh have repeatedly warned about the negative consequences of the illegal establishment of an Azerbaijani checkpoint for the safe and unimpeded movement along the Lachin Corridor, which is now, in fact, completely stopped, and 120,000 people in Artsakh, including 30,000 children, are held hostage in their own homes,” the foreign ministry said. “Under these circumstances, overlooking or ignoring the actual state of affairs on the ground, statements and appeals, as well as the lack of specific and adequate measures on the part of the international community, is only abetting the Azerbaijani authorities to continue and intensify their illegal and aggressive actions.”

“We call on the signatories of the Trilateral Statement of November 9, 2020, primarily the Russian Federation, to take all necessary measures to ensure the strict and full implementation of their international obligations. We appeal to the UN Security Council, which bears the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, as well as to all responsible members of the international community, including the leadership of individual countries and international organizations, to move from words to action and, within the universal ‘Responsibility to Protect,’ charter, undertake all necessary measures to stop the war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity committed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh and its people,” the foreign ministry said.

Artsakh’s defense ministry reported on Thursday that Azerbaijani forces opened fire on a farmer in the Chartar village.

In another incident, an Artsakh resident told police late Thursday evening that his home was being targeted by sporadic automatic gunfire from Azerbaijani military positions near the Chankatagh village.

The shooting damaged the roof of the house and rattled its residents.