Armenians In Artsakh Burn Their Own Homes To Stop Them From Being Seized By Azerbaijani Forces

A peace treaty has now been signed by Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan over the conflict in Artsakh, known officially as Nagorno-Karabakh, ending weeks of conflict in which over 4000 people have died.

However, the ethnic Armenians in Artsakh and in Armenia are furious and terrified by the agreement signed by their Prime Minister, which will see Armenian forces pull out of the region by December 1st and replaced by a Russian peace-keeping force for the next 5 years. The Armenian population is now terrified that this will allow the Azerbaijanis either during this 5 year period, or once the Russians leave, to carry out an ethnic cleansing of the area.

Many living in Artsakh have already begun packing their belongings, fleeing, and even burning down their own homes to stop them being seized by Azerbaijanis. As a result of the agreement, there is also now the pressing danger of an immediate refugee crisis.

Vahe Mkrtchyan, an Armenian resident of the town of Karvachar in Artsakh, told euronews why he was burning down his home and fleeing:

"I don't want to leave something for terrorists - who killed my brothers and sisters and who stole my home from me."

The ceasefire agreement is being widely seen in Azerbaijan and Armenia as a defeat for Armenia and violent protests against the agreement have already broken out in the Armenian capital of Yerevan. This included a violent beating being handed out to Ararat Mirzoyan, the speaker of the Armenian Parliament. The Armenian Prime Minister has however claimed that this is in fact a moment of 'national rebirth', stating:

"This is not a victory, but there is not defeat until you consider yourself defeated, we will never consider ourselves defeated and this shall become a new start of an era of our national unity and rebirth."

The Azerbaijani Prime Minister, Ilham Aliyev, has meanwhile presented the agreement as a monumental victory. He has stated:

"This statement constitutes Armenia's capitulation. This statement puts an end to the years-long occupation."

It is also now widely feared that Azerbaijan will also carry out an organised destruction of historical Armenian sites and ancient churches as part of their ongoing attempt to destroy any trace of Christian Armenian history within Azerbaijan. In what has been called the worst cultural genocide of the 21st century, Azerbaijani forces over the past few years have intentionally destroyed ancient Armenian monuments and holy sites, notably at Djulfa. Their crimes have been described as being on a larger scale than the cultural vandalism carried out by ISIS in Iraq and Syria and the Taliban in Afghanistan.