The Russian Ministry of Defense indicated today, Saturday, that "Armenian fighters in the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh have begun to surrender their weapons, with some humanitarian aid arriving for the Armenians there, who have stated that 'the world has abandoned them after Azerbaijan defeated their forces.'" The ministry reported: "The armed formations in Karabakh have begun to hand over weapons and military equipment, under the supervision of Russian peacekeeping forces." It added: "The fighters have so far surrendered six armored vehicles, more than 800 rifles, and about five thousand ammunition units." Moscow has deployed around two thousand peacekeeping soldiers in the region.
U.S. Senator Gary Peters also pointed out that "there is a need for international observers to monitor the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh." He added: "People are 'extremely afraid' of what is happening there. I am certainly very concerned about what is happening in Karabakh right now, and I believe there should be some clarity."
Azerbaijan began its "anti-terrorism" operation on Tuesday in the Nagorno-Karabakh region following the deaths of some of its forces, which Baku claims were due to "attacks from the mountainous region." The United States has expressed serious concern about "Azerbaijan’s military movements."
A Red Cross aid convoy was seen heading to Nagorno-Karabakh at the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan for the first time since Baku took control of the separatist region. Thousands of ethnic Armenians from Karabakh gathered at the airport seeking protection from the Russian peacekeeping forces stationed there. Svetlana Alaverdyan from the village of Arajadzoor described her escape, stating she left without being able to take anything, even her clothes, after armed clashes swept through the village. She told Armnia 1+ "They were shooting to the right, they were shooting to the left; we came out one after another without taking any clothes."
