In September 2023, Azerbaijan and Turkey achieved a goal they had been pursuing together for over a century – the destruction of the millennia-old Armenian Christian community of Nagorno Karabakh (or Artsakh), writes Joel Veldkamp.
For nine months, Azerbaijan laid siege to Nagorno Karabakh, by blocking the only road that linked the territory to the Republic of Armenia.
Under the blockade, hunger soared, thousands of people were denied medical care, and many pregnant women lost their babies. The lack of fuel made it impossible to transport food from village gardens to the city, or to bring sick people to the hospital. Azerbaijani snipers fired on Armenian farmers trying to grow food.
By mid-September, there was no flour for bread left in the entire country.
All-out attack
On September 19, Azerbaijan launched an all-out attack on Nagorno Karabakh. They bombed civilian areas and used illegal cluster bombs. 50,000 people – nearly half the population – were driven out of their homes. In the capital city of Stepanakert, they sought shelter in basements and churches. Many more slept in the open air.
A woman named Sofik, from the village of Sarnaghbyur, said that when the attack began, she tried to gather the children from her village under a group of trees so that they could move as a group to safety. Then Azerbaijani forces bombed the trees. Many children were killed and wounded.
On September 20, the Armenian leaders in Karabakh accepted a ceasefire, under which they would agree to give up their weapons and negotiate on “reintegration” into Azerbaijan.
But Azerbaijani attacks continued for at least another day, and Azerbaijani troops occupied all the main roads in Karabakh, meaning that people in outlying villages were cut off from the rest of the territory. Many wounded people died because they could not be evacuated.
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