The Red Cross urged for a “humanitarian consensus” on Tuesday July 25, regarding the Lachin corridor, which serves as the sole road connecting Armenia to the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region within Azerbaijan.
The Red Cross on Tuesday called for a “humanitarian consensus” on the Lachin corridor, the only road linking Armenia with the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region inside Azerbaijan.
The Armenian-populated region has been at the center of a decades-long territorial dispute between the Caucasus arch-foes, which have fought two wars over the mountainous territory.
Tensions escalated earlier in July when Azerbaijan temporarily shut the Lachin corridor, sparking concerns over a humanitarian crisis in the region, which experiences shortages of food, medicines, and power supplies.
On July 14, Azerbaijan allowed the Red Cross to resume medical evacuations from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. Twenty-four sick patients have since been evacuated.
But the Red Cross is still unable to bring humanitarian assistance to the civilian population through the Lachin corridor or through any other routes.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called on the authorities of Armenia and Azerbaijan to allow the Geneva-based organization to resume humanitarian operations in the area.
The ICRC said the last time it was allowed to bring in medical and essential food items was several weeks ago and the civilian population was now facing shortages.
The five-kilometer-wide Lachin corridor is policed by Russian peacekeepers to ensure free passage between Armenia and Karabakh.
The ICRC noted that under international humanitarian law, sides must allow and facilitate the unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need.
The organization added that it had evacuated more than 600 people in urgent need of medical care since December 2022.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
