Lachin: Life In No Man’s Land

Photographs © Onnik James Krikorian 2001-3. 

ARTICLES ABOUT LACHIN

LIFE IN NO MAN’S LAND

Following a 1994 ceasefire agreement that put fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno Karabakh on hold, there are also disagreements on the return of lands surrounding Nagorno Karabakh too.

First published 2001

LACHIN CONFRONTS A DEMOGRAPHIC CRISIS

The flag of the unrecognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh flies over the local administrative buildings in the center of Lachin, the strategic lynchpin connecting the disputed territory with the Republic of Armenia. The town and surrounding area, regarded as vital for Karabakh’s security, appear to be experiencing an unsettling demographic shift.

First published 2006

Suarassy

LACHIN: THE EMPTYING LANDS

The local residents of Suarassy seem oblivious to the hidden danger as they herd cattle down a road known to have been mined during the Armenian-Azerbaijani war of the early Nineties. Despite the mangled military lorry rusting in a ditch to one side, none of their cows have so far detonated seven anti-tank mines still believed to be buried underneath, so they reckon the road is safe.

First published 2006

LATEST BLOG POSTS

Final confirmation of the European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA) expected on 23 January

Final confirmation of the European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA) expected on 23 January

As had been expected, a final decision on the deployment of a larger and longer-term Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) civilian monitor mission to Armenia will be made by the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) on Monday, 23 January. This follows a preliminary decision already taken by the Political and EU Security Committee (PSC). 

Social, Economic, and Political Pressures increase in Besieged Karabakh

Social, Economic, and Political Pressures increase in Besieged Karabakh

Tomorrow, 17 January, residents of what remains of the besieged and breakaway Soviet-era Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) will be allocated ration coupons for basic and essential foodstuffs as control of the strategic Lachin Corridor by self-identified Azerbaijani environmental activists enters its second month. Despite their claims, however, most consider the effective but albeit partial blockade of the region, situated within Azerbaijan but populated mostly by ethnic Armenians, to be more than just about that.

Ration Coupon system to start operation in Karabakh on 20 January

Ration Coupon system to start operation in Karabakh on 20 January

Not unexpectedly, on 20 January, certain food products in Karabakh will only be available via a rationing coupon or voucher system. This had already been announced by defacto State Minister on 8 January before it was then announced yesterday that it would brought into operation on 20 January. This is something anyway anticipated when stocks in shops started to increasingly disappear or sell out quickly. The coupons will be distributed on 17 January.

Some residents had already been quoted by media calling for such a system as the effective siege of Karabakh on the Lachin Corridor enters its second month.