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Artsakh’s Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan again accused Azerbaijan of conducting a “policy of ethnic cleansing” after Azeri government-backed “eco-activists” barred 27 civilians from entering Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) on Tuesday.

“On April 4, at about 3:30pm, 27 civilians, including elderly, children and people with disabilities, who have been separated from their families for several months, in accordance with the agreement reached with the Russian side and accompanied by Russian peacekeepers, left the city of Goris of the Republic of Armenia for Stepanakert,” he said in a statement.

“Despite a prearranged agreement, Azerbaijani government agents posing as "eco-activists" blocked the passage of vehicles of the Russian peacekeeping forces carrying civilians near Shushi – a blocked section of the Goris-Stepanakert highway,” the ombudsman noted, adding the people had to stay in the area for about 5 hours and were forced to return to Goris after fruitless negotiations between Russian peacekeepers and the Azerbaijanis.

Stepanyan said some Azerbaijanis even broke into one of the cars. During the negotiations, 4 civilians felt sick and 3 of them fainted. Accompanied by Russian peacekeepers, they were taken to the Republican Medical Center in Stepanakert. Other 23 civilians returned to Goris.

"From the first day of the 114-day blockade, the Azerbaijani side has announced on various platforms that the road is open for the transportation of civilians and cargo, directly questioning not only the valid claims of the Armenian side but also the positions and statements of many international actors, the reality recorded by the ICJ decision of February 22, 2023," he stressed.

"The incident proves once again the whole essence of the false and fabricated claims of the Azerbaijani leadership, the behavior of obvious and undisguised lying and misleading the international community.

"Moreover, by allowing the exit of people from Artsakh in various ways, but prohibiting entry, the Azerbaijani authorities are openly implementing a policy of ethnic cleansing, as Ilham Aliyev once again admitted in his statement on January 10.

"It has long been obvious that the only reason for the insolent behavior of the Azerbaijani side, the ignorance of the calls of the international community, and the failure to comply with the decision of the International Court of Justice is the created permissiveness, the disdain shown towards the peacekeeping mission and the lack of targeted and practical punitive actions by all interested international actors.

"At the moment, hundreds of civilians in the city of Goris and other communities of RA are simply deprived of the opportunity to reunite with their families. The Azerbaijani side, taking advantage of the atmosphere of permissiveness, does not cooperate on this matter with the Russian peacekeepers, the International Committee of the Red Cross, or other international institutions," reads the statement.