Azerbaijan halts Karabakh op as separatists surrender

Yerevan, September 20

Azerbaijan said on Wednesday it had halted military operation in its breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh after Armenian separatist forces there surrendered and agreed to a ceasefire whose terms signalled the area would return to Baku’s control. Under the agreement, confirmed by both sides, separatist forces will disband and disarm and talks on the future of the region and the ethnic Armenians who live there will start on Thursday.

Karabakh, a mountainous area in the volatile wider South Caucasus region, is internationally recognised as Azerbaijani territory, but part of it has been run by separatist Armenian authorities who say the area is their ancestral homeland. Fearful of what the future might hold, crowds of ethnic Armenians made their way to the airport in Stepanakert, the capital of Karabakh which is known as Khankendi by Azerbaijan. Others took shelter with Russian peacekeepers.

Azerbaijan, which sent troops backed by artillery strikes into Karabakh on Tuesday in an attempt to bring the breakaway region to heel, has said it planned to integrate the area’s 1,20,000 ethnic Armenians and that their rights would be protected under the constitution. But some Armenians are sceptical. Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of trying to ethnically cleanse the territory. — Reuters

Outcome may trigger tension in Armenia

The outcome, a victory for Turkey-backed Azerbaijan, can cause political turmoil in Armenia, where some are angry that Yerevan was unable to do more to protect the Karabakh Armenians.

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