More than 100,000 ethnic Armenians have fled the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The mass exodus, in cars and buses filing over the Hakari Bridge, marks the latest humanitarian crisis in the rugged Caucasus region.
A Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) is on the ground in Armenia where we are working with local church partners to deliver relief as tens of thousands of displaced families arrive in need of shelter, food, water, and other relief. Our medical teams will begin working in local hospitals to meet needs as dozens of people were burned in a gas explosion. We also will be providing hot meals to displaced families as well as basic items such as personal hygiene kits, diapers, cleaning supplies, bed linens, and blankets.
Samaritan’s Purse has previously brought relief to this region, in response to war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020. We used our DC-8 to airlift more than 22 tons of emergency supplies to Armenia—including coats, boots, thermals, gloves, socks and beanies. A team of disaster response specialists also distributed winter kits, blankets, food, and more to over 8,000 displaced families. Additionally, mobile medical teams provided critical care to more than 500 patients.
Please pray for hurting families during this current crisis, for our church partners serving them, and for potentially overwhelmed host communities. Pray also that God would bring peace to this region of longstanding conflict.