Nagorno-Karabakh residents struggle to access food as blockade enters 9th month

Residents of Nagorno-Karabakh said Wednesday it is becoming increasingly difficult to access food, water, medicines and other essential supplies as an Azerbaijani blockade of the breakaway region drags into its ninth month.

The United Nations Security Council will discuss the blockade after a former International Criminal Court prosecutor said the blockade may amount to a “genocide” of the local Armenian population.

"The only purpose of this blockade is to starve people," said Luis Moreno Ocampo.

"We have no gas, no other fuel, there are barely any cars left in the whole territory of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). And that’s why we don’t even have the opportunity to bring vegetables and fruits from the villages to the city.” said Nina Shaverdyan, a resident of Stepanakert said.

Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan in a war in the early 1990s. In 2020, Azerbaijan retook territory in and around the enclave after a second war that ended in a Russian-brokered ceasefire.

Since the ceasefire, road links between Armenia and Karabakh have hinged on the Lachin corridor, which was blockaded in December by Azerbaijani civilians identifying themselves as ecological activists. In April, Azerbaijani border guards installed a checkpoint on the route, tightening the blockade.

RELATED: https://globalnews.ca/news/9130463/armenia-azerbaijan-cease-fire-2/
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