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Charektar, Azerbaidjan: Villagers in Nagorno-Karabakh set their homes on fire on Saturday before fleeing to Armenia before the weekend deadline which will see parts of the territory handed over to Azerbaijan as part of a peace agreement.
Residents of Azerbaijan’s Kalbajar district, controlled by Armenian separatists for decades, began a mass exodus this week after it was announced that Azerbaijan would regain control on Sunday.
Fighting between Armenian-backed separatists and the Azerbaijani army broke out in late September and raged for six weeks, leaving more than 1,400 dead and forcing thousands to flee their homes.
In the village of Charektar, bordering the neighboring district of Martakert which will remain under Armenian control, at least six houses burned down Saturday morning with dense plumes of gray smoke rising over the valley, an AFP journalist saw.
“This is my house, I can’t leave it to the Turks,” as Armenians often call Azeris, said a resident as he threw wooden planks and rags soaked in petrol into a completely empty house.
“Everyone is going to burn down their house today … We were allowed until midnight to leave,” he said.
On Friday at least 10 houses were burned in and around Charektar.
Former Soviet rivals agreed to end hostilities earlier this week after previous efforts by Russia, France and the US to secure a ceasefire failed.
A key part of the peace agreement includes the return of Armenia to Kalbajar, as well as the district of Aghdam by November 20 and the district of Lachin by December 1, which were held by Armenians after a devastating war over the years. ’90.
On Wednesday, Russian peacekeepers began deploying in Nagorno-Karabakh as part of the terms of the deal and took control of a key transportation artery connecting Armenia to the disputed province.
Russian military officials said the mission of nearly 2,000 soldiers would set up 16 observation posts in the Nagorno-Karabakh mountains and along the Lachin corridor.
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