Azerbaijan has blocked the access of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) vehicles to Artsakh, tightening the blockade of the region.
On July 11, the Azerbaijan State Border Service announced that passage through the Azerbaijani checkpoint along the Berdzor (Lachin) Corridor has been suspended. It accused ICRC vehicles of transporting packets of cigarettes, mobile phone parts and fuel to Artsakh. Azerbaijani authorities have opened a criminal case to investigate.
“The use for smuggling purposes of vehicles belonging to the ICRC and reserved for medical evacuation is not only a gross violation of the laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan, but also an abuse of the trust that our country has placed in the ICRC as a humanitarian organization,” the Azerbaijan State Border Service said.
Until July 11, the ICRC was the only entity permitted to travel along the Berdzor Corridor amid Azerbaijan’s ongoing blockade of Artsakh. The ICRC has delivered medical supplies to Artsakh and transported patients requiring medical treatment to Armenia.
The ICRC said that four hired drivers whose vehicles temporarily displayed the ICRC emblem attempted to transport the commercial goods. “These individuals were not ICRC staff members and their service contracts were immediately terminated by the ICRC,” the ICRC said in a statement.
The ICRC said it has evacuated more than 600 patients for medical care and delivered medical supplies, food, baby formula and other essentials to healthcare facilities and families. It added that its work along the Berdzor Corridor is “strictly humanitarian” and “done with the agreement of the sides.”
The ICRC and Russian peacekeepers have delivered humanitarian shipments to Artsakh since Azerbaijan blockaded the Berdzor Corridor in December 2022, leading to critical shortages of food and medical supplies. Since June 15, Azerbaijan has blocked the ICRC and Russian peacekeepers from traveling along the Berdzor Corridor, the sole route connecting Artsakh with Armenia.
Azerbaijani border guards temporarily permitted the transfer of medical patients by the ICRC on June 28. This came after Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met with the head of the ICRC delegation in Azerbaijan Dragana Kojic on June 24. Azerbaijan suggested that the ICRC deliver humanitarian aid to Artsakh through Azerbaijan rather than through the Berdzor Corridor, according to a readout of the meeting by Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry. However, Azerbaijani border guards denied access to the ICRC along the Berdzor Corridor this week.
Government-based Azerbaijani protesters posing as eco-activists had closed the Berdzor Corridor from December 12, 2022 to April 23, 2023. They ended their protest after Azerbaijan set up a military checkpoint at the entrance to the corridor from Armenia, placing movement along the corridor completely under the control of Azerbaijani border guards.
Artsakh Human Rights Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan said that Russian peacekeepers have been using helicopters to transport cargo to their forces.
“The entire population of Artsakh is under the threat of starvation, and the international actors do not take any steps other than statements,” Stepanyan said on July 12. “I demand from the International Committee of the Red Cross to light the red alarm button of the danger of genocide. My people are betrayed by everyone’s criminal indifference.”
The NKR InfoCenter, the official media outlet of the Artsakh leadership, added that Azerbaijan uses humanitarian issues “as a leverage to put pressure on the peaceful population of Artsakh and create unbearable living conditions for them.”
The European Union expressed its support for the ICRC and called for the resumption of the ICRC’s activities in Artsakh, along with the immediate reopening of the Berdzor Corridor.
“It is the responsibility of the Azerbaijani authorities to ensure that ICRC can continue its operations and prevent a potential humanitarian crisis,” EU spokesperson for foreign affairs Nabila Massrali said in a statement. “Their work along the Lachin corridor has been exclusively focused on providing the essential needs for the Armenian population in Karabakh and much needed humanitarian assistance.”
Since the closure of the Berdzor Corridor to the ICRC, pro-government media outlets in Azerbaijan have been criticizing ICRC activities in the South Caucasus. One outlet, Report.az, claimed that the ICRC is “fully under the control of Armenians” and “financed by our infamous neighbors,” referring to Russia and the West. The article further accused the ICRC of having “violated international norms and provided comprehensive support to the enemy” during the 2020 Artsakh War. It called for ICRC offices in Artsakh to be terminated.
The closure of the Berdzor Corridor to humanitarian shipments has also compounded fuel shortages in Artsakh. The public transportation system has come under pressure due to a lack of fuel. Artsakh authorities have restricted the operation of buses within Stepanakert and between the capital city and villages.
On July 8, the gas supply was briefly restored for the first time since March 21, only to be shut off again several hours later. Azerbaijan has periodically cut off the natural gas and electricity supply to Artsakh throughout the course of the blockade. Artsakh receives its natural gas and electricity from Armenia through lines that run through Azerbaijani-controlled territory.
EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Toivo Klaar tweeted that a “day that began with promise again ended in disappointment and frustration.” “As reiterated many times by the EU, it is crucial that the flow of energy supplies be restored without restrictions, as well as the movement of people and goods via the Lachin corridor,” Klaar said.
An opinion piece published in pro-government Azerbaijani news site Qavqaz.az said that the gas supply had been restored, then shut off, to pressure Artsakh residents into accepting Azerbaijani control over the region. “By resuming official Baku gas transportation, it shows the Armenian population that they will be provided with everything if they reintegrate into Azerbaijan,” the article says.
Advisor to the Artsakh State Minister Artak Beglaryan ruled out this possibility. “The Azerbaijani authorities must realize that depriving us of gas, electricity, fuel and food cannot strip away our natural rights or break our spirit and will for freedom,” Beglaryan said.
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