Azerbaijan in September recaptured the Nagorno-Karabakh region - then controlled by ethnic Armenians despite being internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan.
Refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh evacuate to the Armenian border on September 27, 2023. Photo: Reuters
The blitzkrieg prompted a mass exodus of most of Nagorno-Karabakh's 120,000 ethnic Armenians to Armenia.
Armenia accused Azerbaijan of ethnic cleansing and asked the International Court of Justice, the official name of the World Court, to issue emergency measures to protect the rights of ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“Azerbaijan must ensure that those who left Nagorno-Karabakh after September 19, 2023 and those who wish to return to Nagorno-Karabakh are not hindered…”, presiding judge Joan Donoghue said.
The court said Azerbaijan must also ensure that any ethnic Armenians still living in the area are “free from the use of force or intimidation that could force them to flee” and asked Baku to report to the court within two months to demonstrate what it is doing.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said it was committed to ensuring the safety and security of all its citizens, regardless of national or ethnic origin, and not forcing ethnic Armenians to leave Karabakh.
“Azerbaijan is committed to upholding the human rights of Armenian residents of Karabakh on an equal basis with other citizens of Azerbaijan,” it said in a statement.
In 2020, after decades of fighting, Azerbaijan won the decisive 44-day Second Karabakh War, retaking territories in and around Karabakh.
That war ended in a Russian-brokered peace deal, before Azerbaijan, as it is known, attacked and recaptured the internationally recognized but disputed territory.
Mai Anh (according to Reuters)
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