Global Courant
ROME – Armenia has asked the European Union for help in dealing with refugees arriving from Nagorno-Karabakh since Azerbaijan took back control of the region last week, the Italian prime minister’s office said Saturday.
Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but is mainly populated by Armenian Christians who founded the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh 30 years ago after a bloody ethnic conflict when the Soviet Union collapsed.
More than 100,000 refugees have arrived in Armenia since Azerbaijan launched a military operation to regain control of Nagorno-Karabakh, the head of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said late on Friday.
Armenia has asked the EU for temporary shelters and medical supplies, the Italian prime minister’s office said in a statement, adding that Rome is working to promote stabilization in the region. REUTERS
