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Nearly 100,000 Armenians are believed to have recently left Nagorno-Karabakh. In the streets of Stepanakert, the territory’s capital, the streets are deserted and the scenery is apocalyptic.
Time seems to have stopped Stepanakert (Nagorno-Karabakh)Monday October 2. The city is emptied of its inhabitants. Four days more early on, the inhabitants had given meet at Place de la Renaissance with the minimum subsistence to take vehicles towards Armenia. These inhabitants, now refugees in Armenia, are discovering the new face of their city. “No one can imagine that. I can’t imagine that I won’t see my hometown again. […] I will never get my life back.”regrets a woman.
The last departures
There were approximately 55,000 inhabitants in the Armenian capital of the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh. Today it is a ghost town. The stores were ransacked. In a video from September 30, the only visible presence is that of Azerbaijani police officers.
In two weeks, the face of Nagorno-Karabakh has changed radically. In addition to the exodus, Azerbaijani forces removed Armenian flags. Armenian road signs were destroyed and then replaced. The names of the cities have been changed. It’s heartbreaking for Armenian refugees. The last Armenian inhabitants are leaving.