With world distracted, Azerbaijan tries to stamp out Karabakh separatists
Time may be running out for the self-declared republic of Artsakh, which lies within Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian-populated region of Azerbaijan.
As Azerbaijani forces launched a concerted military assault on Karabakh Tuesday, no help appeared to be forthcoming from the West, Russia, and even the region’s long-time sponsor Armenia. People on the ground in the region’s capital of Stepanakert described massive shelling of the city beginning Tuesday afternoon, and a desperate scramble to find shelter.
“The basement is full of children crying,” Gayanne Sarkisian, an operations manager at the Hub Artsakh nongovernmental organization, told the Monitor over a Zoom call after taking refuge. Whenever she can get an internet connection, Ms. Sarkisian sends out urgent pleas for help on social media.
