Azeri military targets only wheat field in Sarushen to prevent Nagorno-Karabakh from producing bread, warns official

YEREVAN, AUGUST 19, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani military has been keeping the only wheat field in the Sarushen village under gunfire for a long time to deprive the residents of the opportunity of producing bread, the Nagorno-Karabakh State Minister Gurgen Nersisyan warned Saturday.

Farmers and agricultural equipment are targeted by Azerbaijani forces from nearby outpost whenever they try to approach the wheat field for harvesting.

On August 15, the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities reported that a man has died of starvation in Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of the ongoing Azeri blockade which has led to a humanitarian disaster.

“Although every time the date and time of the planned harvest is coordinated by the Russian peacekeepers with the Azerbaijani side, and the harvest is organized at the presence of the peacekeepers on the ground, as soon as the work starts a constant shooting from various small arms starts taking place, and the agricultural work gets suspended while the civilians are taken to a safe location by the peacekeepers,” Nersisyan added.

“The residents of Sarushen are deprived of their only source of bread, the chance of collecting grain,” Nersisyan said.

Farmers in Sarushen have come under Azeri gunfire many times throughout the week.

The Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to 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. The ICJ reaffirmed its order on 6 July 2023.

Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to shortages of essential products such as food and medication. 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.