According to the Russian news agency RIA, citing the Armenian government, almost 93,000 refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh had crossed the border into Armenia by this afternoon.
More than 88,000 people have arrived in Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh and the total could reach 120,000, a UN refugee agency official said today, a number that matches the estimated population of the mountainous enclave retaken from Azerbaijan last week.
According to the Russian news agency RIA, citing the Armenian government, almost 93,000 refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh had crossed the border into Armenia by this afternoon.
Kavita Belani, the representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) in Armenia, told a briefing of journalists from the UN via video link that huge crowds of exhausted and frightened people are gathering at the registration centers.
“This is a situation where they lived nine months in seclusion,” he said.
“And when they come, they’re anxious, they’re scared, they’re scared and they want answers.”
“We are ready to manage up to 120,000 people. It is very difficult to predict how many will come at this time,” he added in response to a question about the number of refugees. Initial plans were for around 70-90,000 refugees but will now have to be updated, he added.
About a third of the refugees are children, another UNHCR official told reporters.
“The main concern for us is that many of them have been separated from their families,” said Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF regional director.
The representative of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Hisham Diab, said there is a massive need to support the mental health of refugees.
“THE situation often involves families arriving with children so weak they pass out in their parents’ arms“, he said.
Carlos Moratsani, director of operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross, said he was transporting about 200 bodies from Karabakh — victims of a gas station explosion and recent fighting.
Efforts will now focus on helping those left behind with basic food and hygiene items.
“We were planning an evacuation that would be a longer process,” he said.
“Removals this week have moved very quickly, with very high numbers of people, but as a result many are left out».
Source :Skai
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