GORIS — Azerbaijani government-backed protesters blocking Nagorno-Karabakh’s land link with the outside world have not allowed Russian peacekeepers to escort 27 Karabakh civilians stranded in Armenia back to Stepanakert.

A convoy of cars carrying them had to return to the Armenian town of Goris on Tuesday night after spending five hours at the blocked section of the sole road connecting Karabakh to Armenia.

Gegham Stepanyan, Nagorno-Karabakh’s Human Rights Defender, said the Azerbaijanis held up the Russian peacekeepers for about five hours near the city of Shushi “despite a prearranged agreement” to allow the convoy of 27 Armenians, including children, elderly people, and people with disabilities, to pass.

“During the negotiations, the well-being of 4 civilians worsened,” according to Stepanyan, adding that the Azerbaijanis eventually permitted the peacekeepers to transport those four people to Stepanakert for medical care.

Stepanyan said some Azerbaijanis broke into one of those vehicles and intimidated their mostly female passengers.

After mediation by the Russian peacekeepers, the four women were transported through the roadblock to a hospital in Stepanakert. The remaining Armenians were forced to turn around and head back to Goris, the last major Armenian town on the road to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Karine Aghajanyan, another passenger, confirmed reports that an Azerbaijani ambulance transported them to a hospital in Stepanakert.

“The Russians wanted to transport them in their vehicles but the Azerbaijanis didn’t allowed them to do that … That is why we agreed to let them do that,” Aghajanyan told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Wednesday.

“It’s not that they provided medical aid, the incident happened because of them,” she said, speaking from Goris.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign Up for Our Newsletters

Get notified of the latest updates from MassisPost.

You May Also Like

Concerts in Spain Comemmorate Armenian Genocide

MADRID (Armradio.am) — The State Youth Orchestra of Armenia, under the baton…

European Court Refuses to Consider Appeal of Azeri Captives

STRASBOURG  — The European Court of Human Rights has refused to consider…

Armenia’s Simon Marirosyan to Receive Rio 2016 Olympic Games Gold

YEREVAN — Armenian weightlifter Simon Martirosyan, Rio 2016 Olympic Games silver medalist,…

Mini Confrence on Treasures of Western Armenia at Ararat-Eskijian Museum

MISSION HILLS, CA — Ararat-Eskijian Museum, National Association for Armenian Studies and…