A great tragedy has befallen Armenia, as many villages have been emptied and people have burned their own houses as they fled to mainland Armenia.
People have thrown gasoline and burning wood in their houses and destroyed all public property that they’ll be leaving behind. They have even cut power lines and destroyed roads as they leave, fearing violence and riot the likes of which happened during the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 where more than one million people were killed just in a span of a few weeks.
This is a short summary of the entire story
War has been going on between the ethnic Armenian forces and the troops of Azerbaijan over this disputed area of Nagorno-Karabakh, which both the countries claim ownership of. The six-week-long war brought to an end by a peace deal that was achieved after intervention by Russia.
Under this deal, many parts of this territory will be handed over to Azerbaijan. So the ethnic villagers have burned their homes and left as soon as possible to avoid any kind of violence and riots.
If you want to get a perspective on the issue, you only need to know about what happened during the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 where one million people were killed in riots and organized attacks many of which were fueled by extremist organizations like RSS.
Why are they actually burning everything before leaving?
“This is my house, I can’t leave it to the Turks,” as Azerbaijanis are often called by Armenians, said one resident as he threw gasoline and wooden planks into his house and set it on fire.
“Everybody is going to burn down their house today … We were given until midnight to leave,” he said.
“There is a great sense of loss amongst the few remaining. They are chopping wood and taking whatever they have left and join their families across the border in Armenia,” she added.
They have also cut power lines and destroyed whatever they can before handing it over to Azerbaijan.
Meanwhile, in Azerbaijan, people expressed “disappointment” at the burning houses as they claim the land belongs to them and they have feelings of disappointment and anger towards the ethnic Armenians who are now displaced from their own homes.
They are saying the Armenians are vandalizing something which did not belong to them in the first place.
Russian army is there to keep the peace
To ensure the handover without much bloodshed and violence, the Russian military has reached the area and they have established 16 observation posts in the mountainous region.
The peacekeepers have been tasked with monitoring for truce violations, ensuring the safety of transportation and stopping any crimes against the civilian population.
Featured Image Courtesy: Al Jazeera