No going back to Artsakh

Three years after the Azerbaijani blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh: Jelizaveta, Siranush and Borik Mnazakanjan (from left) in their new apartment on the southern outskirts of Yerevan

Tragedies usually end in blood. This is what happened in the last days of the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh in September and October 2023. Azerbaijani troops had been blockading the breakaway region for three years after defeating Armenia in the 44-day war in 2020. For months, President Ilham Aliyev's regime had barely allowed food, medical equipment and other supplies into the region for the starving population. On September 19-20, 2023, Azerbaijan launched a final offensive in Artsakh – the Armenian name for Nagorno-Karabakh.

The last battles with the remaining militias of the internationally unrecognized Republic of Artsakh (1991–2023) were over quickly; the “peacekeepers” sent by Russia remained inactive. There was no turning back for the Armenian population. They fled in buses, in their private cars and vans. As part of the chaotic exodus, a fuel depot in the town of Berkadzor exploded on September 25, 2023. According to Armenian media, the explosion killed 218 people and injured at least 100 others.

»Before the war, many people from Artsakh were teachers, lawyers or held high positions in administration. Today they drive taxis or work in the textile industry and in bakeries.« Siranush Sargsyan, journalist

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