Hundreds of people have been killed in a fuel depot explosion in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus. Unrecognized separatist authorities speak of at least 200 injuries and an unknown number of deaths near the capital Stepanakert. The cause of the explosion is not yet known.
“There have been deaths and injuries as a result of an explosion at a fuel depot near the Stepanakart-Askeran road,” the separatist Interior Ministry said in a statement. The office of the separatist government’s human rights ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan said on Monday evening that at least 200 people had been injured, most of whom were said to be in serious condition. It is still unclear what caused the explosion.
Photos on social media show huge flames. According to politician Metakse Akopjan, at the time of the explosion, many people were queuing to fill up with petrol and then flee the region to Armenia. Thousands of Armenians have already fled, but it is not yet clear whether the explosion is linked to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The region’s human rights office asked the international community for help on Monday to treat the seriously injured victims. “The medical capacity in Nagorno-Karabakh is insufficient to save human lives,” said X, formerly Twitter. The humanitarian situation in the area has been precarious for some time. Azerbaijan has been blocking the only access road from Armenia for months, making food, medicine and fuel scarce in the region.
Shelter in Armenia
6,650 refugees have already been registered in Armenia. The government in Yerevan reported this on Facebook. On Sunday there were only about a thousand.
More than 1,100 people have been given emergency accommodation, and another thousand others have found accommodation themselves. The government promised to arrange accommodation for everyone. About 4,000 people still need shelter.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been contesting control of the region for years. It is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but has an Armenian majority. These people fear for their future now that the Azeris are in control, causing many to flee to Armenia.
Representatives from Baku and Nagorno-Karabakh had a second meeting on Monday. An earlier meeting, last week, yielded no results. It is not yet clear whether that second meeting, where the Russians played mediator, achieved anything.
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