YEREVAN: Almost 100,000 people have fled from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia after the region was conquered by Azerbaijan in a lightning military operation, reported German news agency (dpa).
By Friday, 97,700 people had crossed the border into Armenia, Yerevan government spokeswoman Nazeli Baghdazaryan said, according to local media.
The population of Nagorno-Karabakh was only 100,000 to 120,000 before the latest conflict, according to recent estimates.
There are concerns that many centuries of Armenian life in the area will be wiped out by the exodus, which has been triggered by fears of Azerbaijani rule.
“One more day and the flow will dry up,“ said Armenian Minister of Regional Administration and Infrastructure, Gnel Sanosyan.
“Then all that will be left is for us to take care of the needs of the arrivals.”
Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but its population was predominantly Armenian until Baku claimed power and the self-declared Republic of Artsakh, which governs the disputed South Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh, capitulated.
The territory had been blocked off for months but Baku has opened the route to Armenia, but only for Karabakh Armenians to leave.-Bernama