Expulsion of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians
Top: Displaced ethnic Armenians boarding buses in Nagorno-Karabakh Bottom: Explosion at a fuel-distribution center amidst the evacuation | |
| Date | 24 September 2023 – 3 October 2023 (1 week and 2 days) |
|---|---|
| Location | Nagorno-Karabakh |
| Cause | 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh |
| Deaths | 288 (218 from the Berkadzor fuel depot explosion, 70 en route to Armenia) |
| Displaced | Over 100,617 (99% of population) as of 3 October 2023 |
On 19–20 September 2023, Azerbaijan initiated a military offensive in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region which ended with the surrender of the self-declared Republic of Artsakh and the disbandment of its armed forces. Up until the military assault the region, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, was governed and populated by ethnic Armenians.
Before the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020, the region had an estimated population of 150,000 which decreased in the aftermath of the war. Faced with threats of ethnic cleansing by Azerbaijan and struggling amid a nine-month long blockade, 100,400 ethnic Armenians, representing 99% of the remaining population of Nagorno-Karabakh, fled by the end of September 2023, leaving only a couple of dozen people within the region.
This mass forced displacement of people has been described by international experts as a war crime or crime against humanity. 288 civilians died while fleeing to Armenia, including 218 during an explosion at a fuel distribution center, and 70 civilians while en route to Armenia. While the Azerbaijani government issued assurances that the Armenian population would be safely reintegrated, these claims were not deemed credible due to Azerbaijan's established track record of authoritarianism and repression of its Armenian population.