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With tens of thousands moving into Armenia, the needs are growing exponentially: UNHCR

Almost 89,000 residents of the Karabakh region - roughly half of the region’s population - have moved to Armenia since last week’s flare-up in fighting there and the total number of arrivals could rise to 120,000 in coming days, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday.

“The numbers are increasing as we speak and the needs are also really increasing,” said Kavita Belani, UNHCR representative in Armenia. The Government is managing registration and reception of the new arrivals “and of course there are huge crowds at the registration centres”, she added. “There is congestion, simply because the sheer numbers are very high.”

Conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region has persisted for more than three decades, but a ceasefire and subsequent Trilateral Statement was agreed almost three years ago following six weeks of fighting, by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, leading to the deployment of several thousand Russian peacekeepers.

The exodus of people into Armenia prompted UN Secretary-General António Guterres to call for fully-fledged access for aid workers to people in need.

As thousands of people continue to cross the border into Armenia, the UN and partner organizations are scaling up their response to support those in need.

“In terms of what are the most urgent needs: psychosocial support because people are arriving very tired, people are also in need of some medicines, especially those who are chronically ill, shelter needs,” said the UNHCR representative.

“The sheer number of people arriving has really constrained the current government ability to provide temporary shelter to everybody and schools have also been turned into shelters.”

Echoing that message, the UN Children’s Fund said that approximately 30 per cent of the new arrivals are children.

“The major concern for us is that many of them have been separated by their family, so we are working in providing first of all psychosocial support and working with the ministries and local authorities as well to make sure that family-tracing is done immediately and families can unite,” said Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia and Special Coordinator for Refugee and Migrant Response in Europe. Initial support has included a UNICEF child-friendly space, Ms. De Dominicis noted.

Since Sunday, Armenian villages near the border with the Karabakh region have turned into makeshift refuge camps. Some of those seeking shelter had only minutes to pack to leave by cars, buses and construction trucks, they said. While many refugees expressed relief at reaching Armenia from Azerbaijan, they remain traumatized and confused about the future, according to the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

“It was so evident on everyone – children, men, women, elderly – the expressions on the faces of those who walk into registration points speak volumes,” said IFRC’s Hicham Diab, speaking from Armenia’s capital Yerevan. “Each face tells a story of hardship, but also of hope, knowing they are in a place where they can receive aid.”

The desperate situation was compounded by an explosion on Monday at a fuel depot in the Karabach region that killed at least 68 people, according to local authorities. An additional 105 people are still missing following the blast, which reportedly occurred as many people were lining up to get fuel to help them leave.

“The priority of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in recent days has been on life-saving activities, including the transfer of the wounded to hospitals into Armenia for treatment and bringing in medical supplies,” said Carlos Morazzani, ICRC Operations Manager. “Over the past week we have transferred around 130 people for medical care and after the explosion – that all of you saw – we increased our engagement with all regional authorities.”

Mr. Morazzani added that “yesterday we transferred nearly 200 bodies – people who died either of the accident this week or the recent fighting. We do this in our capacity as a neutral intermediary working on humanitarian grounds.”

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Humanitarian Emergency Karabakh Region: UNHCR - UNICEF - IFRC - ICRC

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