Last week, Azerbaijan took military action to take over the Nagorno-Karabakh region of the caucuses. Nagorno-Karaback is a breakaway, self-autonomous region traditionally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. Ever since the region was taken over, thousands of ethnic Armenians have fled the region to Armenia in fear of what they will face under Azerbaijani rule. Azerbaijan likely chose this time to take action because they felt emboldened to do so by Russia. Russia has traditionally acted to keep peace between the nations and prevented the takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh but is inclined to do so now to keep peace with Turkey, which is Azerbaijan's principal ally. Russia relies on Azerbaijan to keep this relationship with Turkey, and Azerbaijan wants to exploit this dependency to take extraordinary actions with repercussions. The recent military action is only one step in Azerbaijan's long series of military actions against Nagorno-Karabakh ever since the 1991 breakaway. Armenia has committed to accepting 40000 families into the country, but many more ethnic Armenians are likely to flee. While Azerbaijan claims that ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh will be treated well, many believe that some type of ethnic cleansing could occur against the Armenians left in the region. Those who remain not only face these concerns but also struggle to find consistent access to food and safe places to live.
Refugees Flee to Armenia as Breakaway Enclave Comes Under Azerbaijan's Control
By: Ben Pienkos
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