Residents of Karabakh main city urged to shelter, not flee: official
Authorities in the
main city of Nagorno-Karabakh on Wednesday urged residents not to flee after
Azerbaijan launched a military operation against separatist forces.
"At this time there is no need to move, we urge you to follow safety rules and stay in basements and bomb shelters," the mayor's office said in a statement, pointing to signs of "panic" among locals.
Separately, Russian peacekeepers said they evacuated more than 2,000 civilians including over 1,000 children from the "most dangerous" areas in Karabakh.
"The Russian peacekeeping contingent is continuing to evacuate the civilian population of Nagorno-Karabakh from the most dangerous areas," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
On Tuesday, Azerbaijan launched a military operation against Karabakh, warning it would "continue until the end" in the territory.
Arch enemies Armenia and Azerbaijan fought two wars over Karabakh, most recently in 2000.
The head of the breakaway region, Samvel Shahramanyan, speaking at a meeting, accused the international community of failing to react properly to the Karabakh crisis and said the statelet will be "forced to take the necessary steps" to protect its population.
