Nagorno-Karabakh will cease to exist by January, separatist leaders say

Samvel Shahramanyan announced the dissolution on Thursday. Photo: Photolure/National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh

The breakaway republic of Nagorno-Karabakh will cease to exist on January 1, its leaders said, after Azerbaijani troops overran the region and forced tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians to flee.

Samvel Shahramanian, the breakaway region's president, announced its dissolution on Thursday. ending the 30-year struggle for independence from Baku.

The announcement comes as the number of people fleeing the region has reached 75,000, in what Armenian officials have called «ethnic cleansing.»

Mr. Shahramanyan said in his decree that “by January 1, all state institutions and organizations under their departmental subordination, and the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh Karabka (Artsakh) ceases to exist.”

Residents were instructed to “familiarize themselves with the violation of reintegration presented by the Republic of Azerbaijan,” he added.

Ruben Vardanyan, former head of government , was accused of illegally crossing the border. Photo: Reuters

He said the decision followed an agreement brokered by Russia with Azerbaijani officials to ensure “free, voluntary and unimpeded passage” through the Lachin corridor to Armenia.

Armenian officials said Thursday afternoon that 75,000 of the 120,000 population have crossed into Armenia since Sunday.

Nikol Pashinyan, Armenia's prime minister, said the number is expected to rise and that In the coming days, there will most likely be no ethnic Armenians left in Nagorno-Karabakh.

< p>“This is an act of ethnic cleansing, which we have long warned the international community about,” he said at a cabinet meeting.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry denied ethnic cleansing and said that Baku called on local residents to stay put.

Nikol Pashinyan said that, rather That’s all it will be. In the coming days there will be no ethnic Armenians left. Photo: EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

“We call on the residents of Armenia not to leave their homes and become part of the multi-ethnic society of Azerbaijan,” the statement said.

Russia, traditionally an ally of Armenia, said it was «closely monitoring» the situation but refused to condemn Azerbaijan's actions.

«There are no direct grounds for such actions,» Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. outcome.

«People, nevertheless, express a desire to leave… those who made such a decision should be provided with normal conditions.»

He said that Russian peacekeepers continue act. to help people in the area and that Russia «paid attention» to the decree dissolving Nagorno-Karabakh.

This happened after the United Nations called on Azerbaijan to respect the rights of the former leader of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

Residents gather in the center Stepanakert to leave Nagorno-Karabakh Photo: David Ghagramanyan/Reuters

Ruben Vardanyan, the former leader of Nagorno-Karabakh, was arrested by Azerbaijani border guards while trying to evacuate to Armenia on Wednesday.

Azerbaijan's State Security Service said on Thursday, that he faces charges of financing terrorism and illegal border crossings.

Nagorno-Karabakh, populated predominantly by ethnic Armenians, achieved de facto independence from Baku in a war marked by ethnic cleansing and massacres between 1988 and 1994.< /p>

The conflict remained frozen until 2020, when Azerbaijan launched a six-week blitzkrieg to regain territory.

The second 24-hour attack swept through the remaining Armenian-controlled territories on September 19 this year.