Nagorno-Karabakh: At the height of the Armenian exodus, a fuel depot explosion leaves at least 68 people dead and 100 missing

A tragedy occurring in the midst of the exodus. At least 68 people were killed in Monday’s explosion at a fuel depot in Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway region populated mostly by Armenians and where Azerbaijan launched a lightning offensive last week, it announced on Tuesday.

“68 deaths have been confirmed,” the separatist entity said, adding that 290 people were injured and 105 were missing. The previous report, compiled on Monday, said at least twenty dead and 280 injured.

More than 28,000 refugees

Thousands of Nagorno-Karabakh residents are seeking to flee their region to Armenia, where more than 28,000 of them have already taken refuge, a week after Azerbaijan’s offensive in the separatist Caucasus region. According to the Armenian authorities, about 28,120 refugees have so far arrived in Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan opened the only road leading from the region to Armenia on Sunday, four days after the separatists capitulated and a ceasefire agreement that brought Nagorno-Karabakh under Baku’s control. The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, called on Azerbaijan to respect its obligations to protect civilians in the province and allow access for humanitarian aid.

“The Secretary of State spoke with President Aliyev again today and emphasized the urgency of ending hostilities, ensuring unconditional protection and freedom of movement for civilians, and ensuring unfettered access to humanitarian efforts in Nagorno-Karabakh,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

France, for its part, called for “international diplomatic action” in the face of “Russian retreat from Armenia.” Paris estimates that a “massive” exodus of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh is happening “with the complicity of Russia,” which deployed peacekeeping forces to the separatist region in 2020.