22:05, 1 August 2023
YEREVAN, AUGUST 1, ARMENPRESS. An Armenian humanitarian aid convoy for Nagorno-Karabakh remains blocked by Azerbaijan at the entrance of Lachin Corridor for already a week.
On July 26, Armenia sent a humanitarian convoy carrying over 360 tons of emergency food and medication for Nagorno-Karabakh, but Azerbaijan refused to let the trucks through Lachin Corridor. Armenia requested the Russian peacekeepers to escort the goods.
The trucks are stuck on the road in Kornidzor.
Vardan Sargsyan, a member of the Armenian government’s Humanitarian Crisis Management Working Group for Nagorno-Karabakh, told reporters in Kornidzor that there’s been an increasing level of concern and attention by the international community for the situation.
He said that the international community clearly understands that the deepening humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh is real and that lives are in danger.
“We see statements and calls from the United States, various EU institutions, international human rights organizations, various French political parties. These statements very clearly call upon Azerbaijan to open the Lachin Corridor, which has been blocked for nearly eight months, and not impede the transport of humanitarian cargo,” Sargsyan told reporters.
Sargsyan also commented on the increasing cases of fainting in Nagorno-Karabakh among people waiting in breadlines for hours.
“There’s a severe shortage of food, medications and other essential goods, whereas our humanitarian aid consisting of nineteen trucks, which carry flour, other foodstuffs and medication, could contribute to avoiding such incidents there and meet their needs, however it remains [blocked] and the goods can’t reach their destination,” he added.
There’s been no response from the Russian peacekeepers either and the situation regarding the convoy remains the same.
Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia and the rest of the world, has been blocked by Azerbaijan since late 2022. The Azerbaijani blockade constitutes a gross violation of the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh ceasefire agreement, which established that the 5km-wide Lachin Corridor shall be under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Furthermore, on February 22, 2023 the United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – ordered Azerbaijan to “take all steps at its disposal” to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. Azerbaijan has been ignoring the order ever since. Moreover, Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to shortages of essential products such as food and medication. Azerbaijan has also cut off gas and power supply into Nagorno Karabakh, with officials warning that Baku seeks to commit ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh. Hospitals have suspended normal operations.