USAID Urges Reopening Of Lachin Corridor To Allow 'Lifesaving' Supplies Into Nagorno-Karabakh
An Armenian convoy of aid trucks that has been blocked at an Azerbaijani checkpoint.
The head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has called for the reopening of the Lachin Corridor, the only route linking Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh, which has been blocked by Azerbaijan for more than seven months, warning that the humanitarian situation in the breakaway region is "very troubling."
Samantha Power's call came as a convoy of 19 Armenian trucks carrying emergency food aid to Nagorno-Karabakh has been blocked for almost a week at an Azerbaijan checkpoint, where it has been waiting for approval to access the Lachin Corridor.
"Food insecurity & shortages of medical supplies in Nagorno-Karabakh are very troubling. The Lachin corridor is critical for getting lifesaving supplies to the people of N[agorno]K[arabakh]," Powell wrote on Twitter.
Both Armenia and separatist authorities in the enclave have said that Azerbaijan has blockaded Nagorno-Karabakh since December, resulting in shortages of food, medicines, and energy.
Tensions escalated after Azerbaijan last month suspended traffic through a checkpoint on the Lachin Corridor pending an investigation after it said "various types of contraband" had been discovered in Red Cross vehicles coming from Armenia.
The suspension of traffic heightened concerns over a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Last week, the Armenian government said it would try to send 360 tons of flour, cooking oil, sugar, and other basic foodstuffs to Nagorno-Karabakh to alleviate severe food shortages there caused by the blockade.
But Azerbaijan refused to allow the convoy through the checkpoint, while Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanian vowed that the vehicles will continue to stay there "as long as necessary."
Nagorno-Karabakh Crisis: Last-Ditch Armenian Aid Effort Blocked By Azerbaijan
1/9Trucks in Yerevan filled with what Armenia says is humanitarian aid. The photo was taken on July 26, shortly before 19 trucks set off on the journey southeast toward Nagorno-Karabakh.
A convoy of trucks, which Yerevan says is carrying aid for ethnic Armenians in the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh, has been described as a "provocation" by Baku as international humanitarian organizations call for the reopening of the Lachin Corridor, the primary road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.
2/9A view inside one of the trucks, which were reported to be carrying 360 tons of "essential food and goods," intended for Nagorno-Karabakh.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a breakaway region of Azerbaijan that is populated primarily by ethnic Armenians. A monthslong blockade of the road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia escalated dramatically in mid-June when Azerbaijan began to stop all supplies entering the territory from Armenia.
A convoy of trucks, which Yerevan says is carrying aid for ethnic Armenians in the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh, has been described as a "provocation" by Baku as international humanitarian organizations call for the reopening of the Lachin Corridor, the primary road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.
3/9The truck convoy stopped on a road near Nagorno-Karabakh on July 26.
The trucks reached an Azerbaijani checkpoint that was controversially set up in April on the Lachin Corridor, the main road connecting Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh, but was prevented from driving through. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has condemned the aid convoy as a "provocation."
A convoy of trucks, which Yerevan says is carrying aid for ethnic Armenians in the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh, has been described as a "provocation" by Baku as international humanitarian organizations call for the reopening of the Lachin Corridor, the primary road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.
4/9A rally in Yerevan held on July 25 calling for the Lachin Corridor to be opened.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on July 25 released a statement saying "despite persistent efforts, the ICRC is not currently able to bring humanitarian assistance to the civilian population through the Lachin corridor or through any other routes..."
A convoy of trucks, which Yerevan says is carrying aid for ethnic Armenians in the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh, has been described as a "provocation" by Baku as international humanitarian organizations call for the reopening of the Lachin Corridor, the primary road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.
5/9The July 25 protest marches through a motorway tunnel in Yerevan.
The ICRC say the last time they were able to bring medicines and essential food items through Azerbaijan's blockade, "was several weeks ago."
A convoy of trucks, which Yerevan says is carrying aid for ethnic Armenians in the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh, has been described as a "provocation" by Baku as international humanitarian organizations call for the reopening of the Lachin Corridor, the primary road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.
6/9Crowds inside blockaded Stepanakert, the largest city in Nagorno-Karabakh, watch a livestream of the Yerevan protest on July 25.
Azerbaijan has called for the disbanding of the de facto government of Nagorno-Karabakh and claims Karabakh Armenians will have the same rights as other Azerbaijani citizens. But several brutal murders of ethnic Armenians blamed on Azerbaijani soldiers inside territory retaken during the war over Nagorno-Karabakh that broke out in 2020 has left some observers fearing the worst if control of the region is handed back to Baku.
A convoy of trucks, which Yerevan says is carrying aid for ethnic Armenians in the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh, has been described as a "provocation" by Baku as international humanitarian organizations call for the reopening of the Lachin Corridor, the primary road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.
7/9A woman calling for intervention in Nagorno-Karabakh, which Armenians refer to as Artsakh.
A convoy of trucks, which Yerevan says is carrying aid for ethnic Armenians in the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh, has been described as a "provocation" by Baku as international humanitarian organizations call for the reopening of the Lachin Corridor, the primary road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.
8/9Ararat Mirzoyan (left), Sergei Lavrov and Jeyhun Bayramov, the foreign ministers of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan, respectively, meet in Moscow on July 25.
During this July 25 meeting Moscow appeared to call for Armenia to accept Azerbaijani ruleover the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
A convoy of trucks, which Yerevan says is carrying aid for ethnic Armenians in the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh, has been described as a "provocation" by Baku as international humanitarian organizations call for the reopening of the Lachin Corridor, the primary road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.
9/9Protestors in Yerevan on July 25.
A regional official inside Nagorno-Karabakh told journalists that the situation is becoming increasingly severe, with "no sugar, no cooking oil, no baby food, no candy," and added, "in terms of medication, it’s a matter of days before the reserves are depleted,”
A convoy of trucks, which Yerevan says is carrying aid for ethnic Armenians in the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh, has been described as a "provocation" by Baku as international humanitarian organizations call for the reopening of the Lachin Corridor, the primary road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.
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Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had spoken to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev "to express our deep concern for the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Nagorno-Karabakh."
"I join Secretary Blinken's call for the free transit of commercial & humanitarian supplies through the [Lachin] Corridor," Powers wrote on July 31.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars over Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly Armenian-populated mountainous enclave that is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. The most recent war lasted six weeks in late 2020 and left 7,000 soldiers dead on both sides.
As a result of the war, Azerbaijan regained control over a part of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts. The war ended with a Russian-brokered cease-fire under which Moscow deployed about 2,000 troops to serve as peacekeepers.
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