Flight of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians
On 19–20 September 2023 Azerbaijan initiated a military offensive in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region which ended with the surrender of the self-declared Republic of Artsakh and the disbandment of its armed forces. Up until the military assault, the region was internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but governed and populated by ethnic Armenians.
Top: Displaced ethnic Armenians boarding buses in Nagorno-Karabakh Bottom: Explosion at a fuel-distribution center amidst the evacuation | |
| Date | 24 September 2023 – 3 October 2023 |
|---|---|
| Location | Nagorno-Karabakh |
| Cause | 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh |
| Deaths | 218 during from Berkadzor fuel depot explosion 70 en route to Armenia |
| Displaced | Over 100,617 (99% of population) as of 3 October 2023 |
Before the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, the region had an estimated population of 150,000 which decreased in the aftermath of the war. Faced with threats of ethnic cleansing by Azerbaijan and struggling amid a nine-month long blockade, 100,400 ethnic Armenians, representing 99% of the remaining population of Nagorno-Karabakh, fled by the end of September 2023, leaving a couple dozen people within the region.
This mass displacement of people has been described by international experts as a war crime or crime against humanity. 218 civilians died during an explosion at a fuel distribution center, and 70 civilians died en route while fleeing to Armenia. While the Azerbaijani government issued assurances that the Armenian population would be safely reintegrated, these claims were not deemed credible due to Azerbaijan's established track record of authoritarianism and repression of its Armenian population.