Armenia demanded Wednesday, July 12 that international humanitarian organizations have access to the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, whose Azerbaijan has closed the only road linking it to Armenian territory, arousing the concern of its inhabitants. “Residents are dying because they don’t have access to health services”, testified to Agence France-Presse Metakse Iakobyan, a 51-year-old resident of Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh. Lucine Gasparyan, 37, said that “store shelves are empty” : “We can only buy bread and I can’t imagine what our living conditions will be like in the future. »
According to local health authorities, more than one hundred and eighty people including two children “seriously ill” must be urgently transferred to Armenia for treatment. Nagorno-Karabakh human rights defender Gegham Stepanyan described a situation that “empire day by day”and mentioned a risk of ” famine “. He called for a reaction ” very strong “ from the international community.
Referring to acts of “contraband” of the Armenian branch of the Red Cross, Baku announced on Tuesday the “provisional suspension” of passage through the Lachin Corridor. The Armenian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that this measure is intended to make the situation “unlivable” for the inhabitants of the region. Since December 2022, Armenia has accused its neighbor of hindering the supply of this secessionist region populated by Armenians and of creating a humanitarian crisis there.
“It is regrettable that during these months the international community and international humanitarian organizations have not been able to obtain access to Nagorno-Karabakh”added the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in its press release, considering that it is “crucial to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe” in this region.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has dismissed Azerbaijan’s smuggling charges and assured that no unauthorized goods were found inside its vehicles in the Lachin corridor. The European Union said on Wednesday that it supports “firmly the crucial role of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the region” and she repeated “his call on Azerbaijan to guarantee the free movement of people and goods through the Lachin corridor”.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh for several decades and have fought two wars for its control, the last of which, in 2020, saw the defeat of Armenian forces.