The first refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh have arrived in Armenia after Azerbaijan’s military captured full control of the disputed region.
Tens of thousands of people have been impacted by the latest fighting with hundreds entering Armenia as of Sunday night.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence reported its peacekeepers, who were deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020, helped transport 311 civilians, including 102 children.
In December, Azerbaijan imposed a blockade of the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, alleging the Armenian government was using it for mineral extraction and illicit weapons shipments to separatist forces.
The closure denied basic food and fuel supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh’s 120,000 people.
The region, whose population is majority ethnic Armenian, is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan.
