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A month after Azerbaijan attacked and ethnically cleansed Nagorno-Karabakh, we spoke to the daughter of one of the very few people who stayed behind.

Azerbaijani state media recently bragged about AZ establishing local telecom services, but the Armenians who stayed in NK don’t have internet or mobile connections, and they aren’t allowed to speak to their loved ones without being monitored.

And as part of AZ’s “reintegration” facade, AZ authorities confiscated the Armenian passports of those who remained, but haven’t issued Azerbaijani passports to them.

This means the Armenians who stayed in NK are currently stateless.

“The international community hasn’t made Azerbaijan open the Lachin corridor or leave Syunik. Azerbaijan hasn’t been punished, so it will only continue.”

Residents of Kapan say they don’t believe Azerbaijan wants peace, and don’t feel that Syunik is safe from further Azerbaijani attacks/occupation.

“How could we leave? This is our homeland. Aliyev wants to commit ethnic cleansing, but Armenia is a nation that fights. It’s a matter of survival.”

Sotk, Armenia was among the areas hardest hit by Azerbaijan in the course of its September attacks. Azerbaijan continues to commit ceasefire violations in Sotk and surrounding areas, but residents we spoke to said that no matter what Azerbaijan does, they’re not going to leave.

“The Azerbaijanis are still occupying our territory. They cut off our drinking water. If they attack in the night, no one will be able to escape.”

Residents of Nerkin Hand on Azerbaijan’s ongoing aggressions in Syunik.

“If you give Syunik to Azerbaijan, tomorrow, they’ll be in Yerevan.”

Residents of border villages in Syunik, Gegharkunik, and Tavush hold differing opinions on the ongoing Azerbaijani aggressions, yet they share a common sense of worry.

One woman in Shurnukh, a village divided after the 2020 war, worries that all of Shurnukh may be “given” to Azerbaijan. 

The Azerbaijani government has blockaded Nagorno-Karabakh for 68 days under the guise of an “eco-protest”, trapping 120,000 people, causing shortages of food, medicine, and other essentials, and deliberately interrupting gas and electricity supplies in harsh winter conditions.

Arman Tatoyan, Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan, advisor to Artsakh State Minister Artak Beglaryan, and citizens of Artsakh explain the suffering Azerbaijan’s cruel blockade is inflicting and Azerbaijan’s ultimate goal of ethnic cleansing the Armenian population of Artsakh.

Artsakh footage courtesy of:
Sabina Grigoryan
Gev Iskanyan
Marut Vanyan
Armine Beglarian
David Ghahramanyan
Nina