Over 65,000 Armenians flee Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia as exodus continues

The breakaway enclave, once home to an estimated 120,000 ethnic Armenians, has witnessed a significant displacement of its population in the wake of the recent developments.

Armenian government spokeswoman Nazeli Baghdasaryan announced on Thursday morning, "65,036 forcefully displaced persons crossed into Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh."

She also emphasized that the state is actively providing suitable housing for those without predetermined places of residence.

Azerbaijan reopened the sole road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, known as the Lachin corridor and policed by Russian peacekeepers, on Sunday.

This move came four days after Armenian separatist forces agreed to disarm and disband their army, effectively restoring central government control in Baku over the Armenian-populated separatist enclave.

Nagorno-Karabakh, though internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, had broken away from Baku three decades ago and had been at the center of two wars between predominantly Christian Armenia and predominantly Muslim Azerbaijan.

The efforts in Yerevan to accommodate the influx of homeless and displaced ethnic Armenians coincide with ongoing attempts to locate more than 100 people reported missing in a fuel depot explosion on Monday, which tragically claimed the lives of 68 individuals. (ILKHA)