At least 68 individuals have been killed and 105 extra are lacking after a strong blast at a gasoline depot in Nagorno-Karabakh, in line with Azerbaijani media.
The explosion occurred as individuals fleeing the disputed area to Armenia lined up for gasoline, separatist authorities stated.
Earlier, 20 individuals had been confirmed to have died. It isn’t instantly clear what brought on the blast.
Hundreds of others had been reportedly injured within the explosion which occurred close to the regional capital of Stepanakert on Monday.
Thousands of ethnic Armenians are leaving the territory, saying they concern ethnic cleaning after the Azerbaijani navy reclaimed management of it final week.
Lightning operation
The Azerbaijani navy took management of the area in a 24-hour lightning operation final week, ending three a long time of separatist rule.
At least 19,000 of the 120,000 resident ethnic Armenians have fled to Armenia up to now, Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan was quoted by Russia’s TASS information company as saying. That quantities to roughly 16% of the inhabitants.
Armenia claims the mass exodus is because of a concern of reprisals – one thing strongly denied by Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has vowed to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians within the area and to revive provides after a 10-month blockade.
Those lining up on the gasoline facility had been reportedly ready for fuel. It has been a shortage alongside primary meals and provides for the reason that blockade, in line with Armenia.
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The US has known as on Azerbaijan to guard the rights of civilians.
“We are calling on Azerbaijan to maintain the ceasefire and take concrete steps to protect the rights of civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh,” US Agency for International Development (USAID) chief Samantha Power instructed reporters in Armenia’s capital Yerevan.
“We have heard very troubling reports of violence against civilians. At the same time given the chaos here and the trauma, the gathering of testimonies… of the people who have come across is something that is just beginning,” Ms Power stated.
The Azerbaijani offensive final week pressured separatist authorities to agree to put down weapons and begin talks on Nagorno-Karabakh’s “reintegration” into Azerbaijan.
Two rounds of talks between Azerbaijani officers and separatist representatives have taken place up to now. The first was stated to have targeted on humanitarian assist and medical providers.
Nagorno-Karabakh got here below the management of ethnic Armenian forces, backed by the Armenian navy, after a six-year struggle that led to 1994.
Azerbaijan retook components of Nagorno-Karabakh again in 2020 and fully reclaimed surrounding territory that it misplaced earlier.
Under a deal that ended the 2020 combating, Russia deployed a peacekeeping drive to the area.
Source: information.sky.com”