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The people of Artsakh have been under blockade for 24 hours now, cut off from communication with the outside world, Artsakh’s Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan stressed.

A group of Azerbaijanis have blocked the Stepanakert-Goris highway, the sole road connecting Artsakh to Armenia, on ostensibly environmental grounds since Monday morning.

“The created situation is leading to catastrophic humanitarian consequences: the supply of food, energy, medicine, and other necessities has been stopped, thousands of people are in isolation, and about 1,100 people are left on the road in cold winter conditions, without the opportunity to join their families, including 270 children,” the ombudsman said in a statement on Tuesday.

“This is another manifestation of the Azerbaijani ethnic hatred policy, which aims to terrorize the people of Artsakh, extract concessions from Artsakh under existential threats, and impose its will. These are large-scale and gross violations of human rights, regarding which there has been no proper international response until now.

“I expect the active response of international actors, and people should not be ignored, regardless of geopolitical realities and the political and economic interests of states,” he underscored.