Fears of ethnic cleansing send thousands fleeing

Thousands of people are fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh because of an Azerbaijani military offensive, according to multiple reports from the BBC and The Guardian. The refugees fear ethnic cleansing.

Since Azerbaijan took control over the region last week, roughly 3,000 people have fled Nagorno-Karabakh into Armenia. Nagorno-Karabakh — which is located in the South Caucasus — is formally part of Azerbaijan. However, Armenians have controlled the region for more than 30 years. The influx of the large number of refugees has caused problems for the Armenian government, which has difficulties supplying the people with food and shelter.

The conflict also involves surrounding countries Russia and Turkey, which further complicates matters. Read more about the developing story here and here.

Photo by Sarin Aventisian on Unsplash.