Nagorno Karabakh warns of ‘indescribably grave’ situation amid total blockade

STEPANAKERT, JULY 6, ARMENPRESS. Artsakh has been depending entirely on its own resources since June 15, when Azerbaijan blocked all humanitarian goods shipments.

These conditions are indescribably grave for a country not having the sufficient level of self-sustainability which used to live through uninterrupted connection with Armenia, State Minister of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) Gurgen Nersisyan said from Stepanakert during the July 6 Armenia-Nagorno Karabakh telebridge.

“Limited quantity of food was brought into Artsakh in between 12 December 2022 and 15 June this year and it only met the minimal needs of the population. Naturally our domestic resources began to decrease. For more than twenty days the children, elderly and pregnant women are deprived of the opportunity to use the required amount of fruits and vegetables [for a healthy diet], there are no basic hygiene products, people are unable to transport patients to medical facilities. We are trying to somehow evenly distribute the essential items which we have, while our citizens in the regions are completely cut off from the capital and don’t have the opportunity of going to hospitals. Farmers are facing the most serious problems. People only have a few hours of electricity supply because the electricity and gas supply from Armenia is halted,” Gurgen Nersisyan said, describing the Azerbaijani actions as 'annihilation' of people, and not simply a violation of human rights.

“Let no one think that tolerating this situation won’t have negative consequences for the collective world,” he warned.

Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world, has been blocked by Azerbaijan since late 2022. The Azerbaijani blockade constitutes a gross violation of the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh ceasefire agreement, which established that the 5km-wide Lachin Corridor shall be under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Furthermore, on February 22, 2023 the United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) - ordered Azerbaijan to “take all steps at its disposal” to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. Azerbaijan has been ignoring the order ever since. Moreover, Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to shortages of essential products such as food and medicine. Azerbaijan has also cut off gas and power supply into Nagorno Karabakh, with officials warning that Baku seeks to commit ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh. Hospitals have suspended normal operations and the Red Cross has been facilitating the medical evacuation of patients.