Number of evacuees from Karabakh nearing 101,000

YEREVAN. Oct 4 (Interfax) - The Armenian government has presented updated reports on the number of Nagorno-Karabakh residents who have entered Armenia.

"The updated data indicates that 100,632 forcibly displaced persons have entered Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh," the Armenian prime minister's spokesperson Nazeli Baghdasaryan said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

According to official data, around 120,000 Armenians lived in Nagorno-Karabakh.

On October 2, Baghdasaryan said the main influx of Nagorno-Karabakh residents to Armenia had stopped and that mainly officials remained.

There is no specific information on the Armenians remaining in Karabakh.

Azerbaijan carried out a military operation in the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) on September 19-20, 2023. During the hostilities, about 200 people were killed on each side and several hundred were wounded.

On September 24, the exodus of the Armenian population from Karabakh to the territory of Armenia began.

The Armenian side promised that a lump sum of 100,000 drams ($254) will be given to each displaced person regardless of age, and another 50,000 drams ($127) will be paid to each displaced person regardless of age for rental and utility payments. The Armenian government provides housing for those people who do not have a previously determined place of residence.

On September 28, NKR President Samvel Shahramanyan signed an order to abolish the NKR and dissolve all government agencies. The population was invited to study the Azerbaijani terms of reintegration and decide whether to stay in Nagorno-Karabakh.

On October 1, employees of the State Migration Service and the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Azerbaijan started working in Karabakh for reintegrating Armenian residents of Karabakh into Azerbaijani society. They are accepting applications for preliminary registration of Armenian residents of Karabakh.