Almost 85 000 people left Nagorno-Karabakh. This is half of the regionʼs population

Almost 85 000 Armenians who did not want to live in the region after its return to the control of Azerbaijan have left Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia.

As "Radio Azatutyun" reports, as of 6 a.m. on September 29, 84 770 forcibly displaced people entered Armenia. If we take into account the data of the population census of Karabakh for 2015, then half of the population left the region. According to the census, almost 145 000 people lived there, and almost all of them ethnic Armenians.

People go from Karabakh through the Lachin Corridor, which is the only road to Armenia.

• On September 19, Azerbaijan informed about the start of an "anti-terrorist operation" in Nagorno-Karabakh (NKR) to "restore constitutional order." After a day of fighting and shelling, the unrecognized NKR capitulated, and the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev informed about the restoration of the countryʼs sovereignty. On September 20, Azerbaijan put forward demands — the dissolution of the government of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and the disarmament of all its formations. After that, NKR forces began to hand over equipment and weapons, and Armenians began to leave Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan began the reintegration of the region.
• On September 27, Azerbaijan officially announced its losses in the one-day operation: 192 soldiers were killed, 512 were wounded. The Armenian side did not officially name its losses. According to various estimates, at least 200 Armenians, including civilians, died in Karabakh during the day.
• On September 28, the leader of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic officially announced that the NKR will cease to exist on January 1, 2024.