Local media reported that the Armenian government announced that 377 refugees from the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh had arrived in Armenia by 14:00 GMT today, Sunday. "Reuters" revealed that hundreds of Armenian refugees arrived in a town near the border in Armenia. Earlier today, the Armenian website "CivilNet" published photos and videos of what they claimed were Armenian-origin refugees arriving in Armenia.
The first group of Artsakh refugees arrived in Syunik, as reported by Armine Simonyan from CivilNet's Syunik team. This group, consisting of approximately 40 people—families who lost their homes and made the decision to move to Armenia—passed through the checkpoint and registered at the humanitarian center.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated in a speech to his citizens today that "Armenia is ready to accept all ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh." He opined that "the security alliances that Armenia was part of were ineffective," in clear criticism of Russia, Armenia's main ally.
In a related context, the Russian news agency "Interfax" reported that the Armenian Ministry of Health announced that ambulances evacuated some injured individuals from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. They specified that "ambulances with paramedics transported 23 patients from Nagorno-Karabakh with serious and critical injuries," adding that these vehicles had already crossed the bridge at the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.
Armenia had called on Saturday for the immediate deployment of a United Nations mission to monitor human rights and security amidst signs of possible aid reaching the separatist region under a fragile ceasefire. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated in a speech at the United Nations: "The international community must make every effort for the immediate deployment of a joint inter-agency mission by the United Nations in Nagorno-Karabakh to monitor and assess human rights and the humanitarian and security situation on the ground."
In contrast, Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov also addressed the United Nations, assuring that his country would continue efforts to "promote the post-conflict peacebuilding process, reintegration, and peaceful coexistence."
In related news, the leadership of the Nagorno-Karabakh region indicated to Reuters that "members of the Armenian ethnicity in the region will leave for Armenia, as they do not wish to live as part of Azerbaijan and fear ethnic cleansing." A consultant to the President of the self-proclaimed "Republic of Artsakh," David Babayan, stated, "Our people do not want to live as part of Azerbaijan. 99.9 percent prefer to leave our historical land." He further remarked that it is unclear when the Armenians in Karabakh, numbering around 120,000, would head to the Lachin corridor. He concluded, "The fate of our poor people will be recorded by history as a disgrace and a stain on the face of Armenians and the entire civilized world. Those responsible for our fate will one day be held accountable before God for their sins."
