Today’s news / Armenian exodus from N-K
A girl sleeps on the streets of Stepanakert, while a large number of ethnic Armenians leave the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Photo: Hasmik Khachatryan/Ritzau Scanpix

Armenian exodus from N-K

Thousands of people continue to leave Nagorno-Karabakh. In total, more than 19,000 people have fled the region to Armenia, according to Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan in a televised statement Tuesday. Last week, Azerbaijan took control of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is in Azerbaijan but was controlled for three decades by ethnic Armenians who make up a majority of the population there. The Armenian leadership in the region says that the 120,000 Armenians in the region no longer wish to live in part of Azerbaijan. They fear persecution and ethnic cleansing. Azerbaijan has stated that it wants to integrate ethnic Armenians into society. /ritzau/