By Felix Light
GORIS, Armenia (Reuters) – A former head of the breakaway ethnic Armenian government in Nagorno-Karabakh was arrested by Azerbaijan on Wednesday as he tried to escape into Armenia as part of an exodus of tens of thousands of people that has triggered a humanitarian crisis.
Ruben Vardanyan, a billionaire banker and philanthropist, headed Karabakh’s separatist government between November 2022 and February 2023.
His wife Veronika Zonabend said on his Telegram channel that he had been arrested while trying to flee as part of a mass departure by ethnic Armenians after Azerbaijan took back control of the territory last week.
Azerbaijan’s border service said he had been taken to the capital Baku and handed over to other state agencies.
Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but populated mostly by ethnic Armenians who broke away in the 1990s in the first of two wars there since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Fearing Azerbaijani reprisals because of the bloody history between the two sides, ethnic Armenians are abandoning their homes and fleeing en masse in cars and trucks along the snaking mountain road that leads to Armenia. Karabakh authorities said 47,115 people had left so far, out of an estimated ethnic Armenian population of 120,000 people.
Western governments fear a humanitarian disaster and are pressing for Azerbaijan to allow international observers into Karabakh to monitor its treatment of the local population.
“What is needed now is transparency, and the eyes and ears of the international community on the spot,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock posted on X, formerly Twitter.
“It would be a sign of confidence that Azerbaijan is serious about its commitments to the security and wellbeing of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh if it allows international observers”.
ACCUSATIONS
Azerbaijan says it wants to peacefully reintegrate the ethnic Armenian residents of Karabakh and emphatically rejects Armenian accusations of ethnic cleansing.
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said last week that Armenians could “finally breathe a sigh of relief” and would be able to vote, receive state education and freely practise their Christian religion in mainly Muslim Azerbaijan. Baku would turn Karabakh into a “paradise”, he said.
It was not clear on what grounds Vardanyan had been held, but Azerbaijan has signalled it will seek to prosecute some figures in the Karabakh leadership.
“We have accused elements of the criminal regime and we will bring them to justice,” Aliyev said last week, without naming anyone or specifying any crime.
Zonabend said she asked for people’s “prayers and support for my husband’s safe release”.
The mountain road that winds out of Karabakh towards Armenia has been choked for days, with many people sleeping in cars or searching for firewood to keep warm. The journey of just 77 km (48 miles) to the border was taking at least 30 hours.
“I left everything behind. I don’t know what is in store for me. I have nothing. I don’t want anything,” Vera Petrosyan, a 70-year-old retired teacher, told Reuters.
DEATH TOLL
Local authorities said at least 68 people had been killed, 105 were missing and nearly 300 were injured in a huge explosion at a fuel station in Karabakh on Monday. It was unclear what caused it.
Russia said its peacekeeping force in the region had evacuated more than 120 people by helicopter.
Armenia is angry that the Russian peacekeepers, in place since a 44-day war in 2020, did nothing to prevent Azerbaijan from launching its offensive last week.
With Russia distracted by the war in Ukraine, the crisis has highlighted its waning ability to play the role of security guarantor in the Caucasus region, where Turkey, Iran and the United States are vying with it for influence.
Tens of thousands have been killed in wars over Karabakh since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, of which both Armenia and Azerbaijan were part.
The toll climbed further in last week’s fighting, in which Karabakh authorities said they lost at least 200 people.
Azerbaijan said on Wednesday that 192 of its soldiers had been killed, and published their names and photographs on the defence ministry website. More than 50 were young men in their teens.
(Writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Gareth Jones and Philippa Fletcher)
“O grande desafio que a Geórgia enfrenta atualmente é a desocupação dos territórios ocupados pela Rússia. Os problemas com a Abcásia e a Ossétia só serão resolvidos por meios pacíficos”, escreveu o chefe do Governo georgiano nas redes sociais no 30.º aniversário da queda da capital da Abcásia, Sukhumi, para os separatistas.
Garibashvili, juntamente com membros do executivo e outras autoridades, depositou uma coroa de flores na chama eterna na Praça dos Heróis, no centro da capital.
“A 27 de setembro de 1993, um dos acontecimentos mais dramáticos da história recente da Geórgia chegou ao fim”, afirmou Garibashvili na mensagem à população, recordando a perda de Sukhumi.
O primeiro-ministro georgiano sublinhou que a derrota resultou numa “limpeza étnica, que transformou centenas de milhares de georgianos em refugiados”.
Em memória dos mortos, as bandeiras dos edifícios públicos da Geórgia foram hoje colocadas a meia haste.
O conflito armado entre a Geórgia e a Abcásia começou a 14 de agosto de 1992 e terminou a 27 de setembro do ano seguinte com a vitória dos separatistas apoiados por milhares de voluntários russos, provocando cerca de 12.000 mortos.
JSD // APN
Lusa/Fim
Առավոտյան ժամը 8-ի դրությամբ Լեռնային Ղարաբաղից բռնի տեղահանված 42 հազար 502 անձ է հատել Հայաստանի սահմանը, որից 22 հազար 800 արդեն հաշվառվել են, իսկ կեսօրի դրությամբ սահմանը հատածների թիվը 5 հազարով ավելացավ՝ դառնալով շուրջ 47 հազար 115, այսօր հայտարարեց Հայաստանի վարչապետի մամուլի քարտուղար Նազելի Բաղդասարյանը։
Կոռնիձոր կայանը հատելուց հետո քաղաքացիները հաշվառում են ստանում կա՛մ Գորիսի, կա՛մ Վայքի հատուկ հաշվառման կենտրոններում, որից հետո տեղի է ունենում տեղաբաշխումը։
«Սահմանը հատած 42 հազար 502 անձից միան 4 հազար 2 մարդ է ցանկացել օգտվել պետության այս աջակցությունից, որը կազմում է ընդամենը 10 տոկոսը», – ասաց Բաղդասարյանը՝ նշելով, որ մնացած քաղաքացիները ցանկացել են իրենց բնակության և կեցության հարցերն ինքնուրույն կազմակերպել։
Վարչապետի խոսնակը ներկայացրեց նաև 42 հազար 502 անձանց բաշխվածությունն ըստ մարզերի․ Սյունիքում՝ 1465 անձ, Վայոց Ձորում՝ 810, Գեղարքունիքում՝ 976, Տավուշում՝ 298, Արմավիրում՝ 200, Արագածոտնում՝ 30, Շիրակում՝ 203, Կոտայքում՝ 20։
Ինչ վերաբերում է կոորդինացիոն կենտրոններում չհաշվառված արցախցիներին՝ աշխատանքի և սոցիալական հարցերի նախարար Նարեկ Մկրտչյանը կոչ արեց նրանց՝ կապ հաստատել միասնական սոցիալական ծառայության տարածքային կենտրոնների հետ կամ հաշվառվել մարզերում և համայնքներում գործող կոորդինացիոն հաշվառման կենտրոններում, որպեսզի պետությունը կարողանա ամբողջական պատկեր ունենալ և արդյունավետ կառավարում իրականացնել։
14:28, 27 September 2023
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Aurora Humanitarian Initiative co-founder and former State Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) Ruben Vardanyan has been arrested by Azerbaijani authorities, his wife said in a statement on September 27.
Ruben Vardanyan’s wife Veronika Zonabend’s statement is presented below.
“My husband, Ruben Vardanyan, the philanthropist, businessman and former minister of state of Artsakh, has been arrested and held captive by the Azerbaijani authorities at the border as he attempted to leave this morning, along with thousands of Armenians escaping Azerbaijani occupation. Ruben stood with the Arsakh people during the 10-month blockade and suffered along with them in the struggle for survival. I ask for your prayers and support to ensure my husband’s safe release.”
Azeri news media have also reported Vardanyan’s arrest.
12:27, 27 September 2023
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. 42,500 forcibly displaced persons have crossed into Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh, the government of Armenia said citing data as of 08:00, September 27.
22,800 of the 42,500 have already been registered.
The registration process continues.
“4,002 persons were provided with accommodation by the government so far: 1,465 in Syunik, 810 in Vayots Dzor, 976 in Gegharkunik, 298 in Tavush, 200 in Armavir, 30 in Aragatsotn, 203 in Shirak and 20 in Kotayk,” said Nazeli Baghdasaryan, the spokesperson of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
“This is the primary aid, our priority is to ensure certain accommodation to the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh,” she added.
The Armenian government offers accommodation to all arriving forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh. Some of the forcibly displaced persons chose to stay with their relatives or friends in Armenia.
Ukrainian soldiers ride on top of an armored personnel carrier in Kostyantynivka, Donetsk region, on September 25.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed new Ukrainian action against Russia following a missile strike last week against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters that Kyiv said killed nearly three dozen officers, including its top commander.
“We clearly see which directions of pressure on Russia need to be strengthened to prevent [its] terrorist capabilities from growing,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address on September 26. He also said that an analysis of Russia’s military industry shows that pressure on Moscow should be increased.
“We can clearly see which areas of pressure on Russia should be strengthened so that terrorist possibilities do not increase,” he said. “Sanctions are not enough.”
The Ukrainian military said earlier that 20 combat clashes took place on September 26 along the front line amid air strikes in the Donetsk region and fighting in the area around Bakhmut.
An air strike hit near the key village of Klishchiyivka in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, during the day, the General Staff said in its evening report.
Ukrainian forces appeared earlier this month to have recaptured Klishchiyivka as part of their drive to liberate the symbolic eastern town of Bakhmut. The Ukrainian military said on September 26 that its forces were “firmly on the defensive” in the area around the embattled city.
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In addition, Ukrainian troops “successfully repelled” Russian attacks to the southeast of the settlement of Severny and enemy attacks in the Maryinka area, both in the Donetsk region, the General Staff said.
The Prosecutor-General’s Office reported Russian military shelling in the Kharkiv region, saying that according to preliminary information, a 64-year-old civilian was injured and hospitalized. In addition, residential buildings, commercial buildings, and a car were damaged, the Prosecutor-General’s Office said.
Ukraine’s military claimed earlier on September 26 that nearly three dozen officers with Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, including its top commander, were killed in a missile attack on the fleet headquarters last week.
Ukraine’s claim about its strike against the Russian Black Sea Fleet could not be immediately confirmed, and Russia released markedly lower casualty figures from the September 22 attack on the Crimea port of Sevastopol.
But the strike itself on the naval headquarters was the latest in a series of increasingly audacious attacks by Ukrainian forces on Russian ships and Black Sea facilities — attacks that Western experts say may have drastically curtailed Russia’s naval operations in the region.
In a statement issued on September 25, Ukraine’s special operations forces cited “new information about the losses of the enemy as a result of the special operation,” claiming that 34 officers, including the fleet commander, were killed when cruise missiles — believed to be either British or French — hit the Sevastopol building. At least 105 others were wounded, it said.
IN PHOTOS: Kyiv has said that its use of heavy weapons supplied by the West is inflicting a significant toll on Russian forces near Bakhmut. RFE/RL cannot independently verify battlefield claims made by either side.
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The Ukrainian statement did not name the naval commander in its statement. The current top officer in the Black Sea Fleet is Admiral Viktor Sokolov.
Asked by reporters on September 26 about the Ukrainian claim, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had no comment. And a video released later by state news agency RIA Novosti showed a meeting of top Russian military officials, and RIA said Sokolov was in attendance.
The September 22 attack, which was caught on bystanders’ video and satellite imagery, came on the heels of a missile strike nine days earlier that hit Sevastopol’s main naval shipyard. Two ships — a landing vessel and a diesel submarine — that were undergoing repairs in a dry dock facility were believed to be severely damaged, if not destroyed. The dry dock facility may have also been damaged, which would limit Russia’s ability to maintain and repair its naval ships.
Russia has stepped up its aerial bombardments of Ukrainian sites, targeting in particular Ukraine’s grain-exporting infrastructure in the southern Odesa and Mykolayiv regions. Ukraine has resumed exporting grain despite Russia’s pulling out of a United Nations-brokered deal allowing safe grain shipments in July.
An overnight air strike on another port facility in Izmayil injured two people and damaged infrastructure, the region’s governor said in a post to Telegram on September 26. Ukraine’s military reported shooting down 26 of 38 Iranian-made attack drones it said were launched by Russia.
Russian air defenses shot down a drone on September 26 as it approached the city of Belgorod, regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. There were no casualties or damage, according to preliminary information, he said on Telegram.
With reporting by Current Time, AFP, TASS, and Reuters
The United States and Germany added to calls for international observers to be allowed into the Nagorno-Karabakh region, as Azerbaijan said Wednesday that 192 of its soldiers were killed in an operation to retake the area from ethnic Armenian separatists.
The U.S. State Department said Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev in a phone call to assure people in Nagorno-Karabakh their rights will be protected and to allow for humanitarian access to the region.
“The secretary urged President Aliyev to commit to broad amnesty and allow an international observer mission into Nagorno-Karabakh, and noted the President’s public commitments to help build a future for all those in Nagorno-Karabakh based on peace, mutual understanding, and mutual respect,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.
Aliyev’s office said he told Blinken “that respective activities are underway to ensure the rights of Armenian residents living in the Karabakh region” and that Azerbaijan’s forces targeted only military facilities in the 24-hour operation last week.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Wednesday that allowing monitors into the region “would be proof of confidence that Azerbaijan is serious about its commitments on the security and the wellbeing of people in Nagorno-Karabakh.”
Baerbock also announced Germany would more than double the humanitarian aid it is providing through the International Red Cross, boosting the funding to more than $5 million.
Azerbaijan’s offensive has pushed thousands of ethnic Armenians to flee Nagorno-Karabakh, which is entirely within Azerbaijan but had been under ethnic Armenian control since 1994, until parts of it were reclaimed by Azerbaijan during a war in 2020.
More than 43,000 people had arrived in Armenia by early Wednesday.
Separatist officials said the casualties on their side included more than 200 dead and 400 injured.
Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.