October 5, 2023

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"Summary"

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Karabakh is a conflict-affected region within Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized borders. Its predominantly ethnic Armenian population has sought change of the territory’s status and independence since the late 1980s (1). Tensions escalated into a full-scale military conflict in 1991, which ended in 1994 with the de facto secession and mass population displacement into Azerbaijan. From September to November 2020, Azerbaijan established control over much of the disputed territories during a 6-week conflict. The ethnic Armenian population of the disputed region – estimated at around 120 000 individuals – are largely concentrated in the local capital Stepanakert/Khankendi and in small settlements around it. This population were granted access to Armenia via a single route – the so-called Lachin corridor – under the protection of Russian peacekeepers (1). Occasional skirmishes continued after the negotiated ceasefire (see Fig.1). The 2020 conflict resulted in the displacement over 91 000 Armenians and 84 000 Azerbaijanis, the vast majority of whom were older people, women and children (2). As of December 2021, 20 433 displaced people – of which 90% were women and children (3) – were still living in a refugee-like situation in Armenia, sheltering with host families, in collective shelters or in rented accommodation across 11 Armenian provinces.