It is already the 23rd day that the only road connecting Artsakh to the world, the Lachin Corridor, remains closed. Azerbaijan has closed the corridor since December 12, citing false environmental reasons.
As a result of Azerbaijan’s illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor, 120 thousand people of Artsakh, including 30 thousand children, 20 thousand elderly people and about 9 thousand people with disabilities, are facing humanitarian crisis for 23 days.
Due to the closure of the road, 1100 people, including 270 children, were unable to return from Armenia to Artsakh.
People’s rights to free movement, adequate standard of living, receiving medical care, education and other rights are violated.
The shops, pharmacies, markets in Artsakh are almost empty. The Government of Artsakh adopted a decision to limit the provision of public food services from December 29. In Artsakh, stores receive supplies from reserve resources only by the Government’s decision.
Scheduled surgeries are still suspended in medical institutions. According to data of December 30, 12 children were in the neonatal and intensive care units in the “Arevik” medical unit. At the “Republican Medical Center”, 12 patients were in the intensive care unit, 5 of them were in critical condition.
On December 19, one citizen died in Artsakh, because due to the closure of the road, it was impossible to transport him to Armenia to ensure proper treatment.
Through the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, a humanitarian cargo was once sent to Artsakh: mainly medicine, baby food and medical supplies. Through the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, 10 patients, including a 4-month-old baby, were transferred from Artsakh to different medical centers in Armenia.
The falseness of the environmental arguments brought by Azerbaijan is evidenced by the fact that although the Artsakh authorities announced to stop the operation of the mines of “Base Metals” company and to invite an international ecological expert group to study the company’s activities, the road remains closed.
Back on December 13, Artak Beglaryan, adviser to the Minister of State of Artsakh, and Davit Babayan, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced that the people blocking the Lachin Corridor are not environmental activists, as they present themselves, but they are people working in Azerbaijan’s special services and army. From the very first days of closing the corridor, videos and photos have been circulated, proving that supporters of the Turkish extremist “Grey Wolves” organization are among the people who have blocked the road.
A day after closing the road of life of Artsakh, Azerbaijan also stopped the gas supply to Nagorno Karabakh. It was restored only three days later, leaving civilians already deprived of the right to movement and other rights in adverse winter weather conditions.
