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1 1 (October 18, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govenen0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional ____ ~ Research Service Azerbaijan's Retaking of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Displacement of Karabakh Armenians October 18, 2023 On September 20, 2023, Azerbaijan reasserted control over Nagorno-Karabakh (also known in Armenian as Artsakh), a predominantly Armenian-populated region at the center of a dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia for more than 30 years (Figure 1). Since December 2022, Azerbaijan had taken measures to restrict movement of people, goods, and services between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, leading to what some observers called a blockade of the region. Following an Azerbaijani offensive on September 19-20, regional authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh consented to a cease-fire that included the disarmament of Nagorno-Karabakh's self-defense forces and the region's reintegration with Azerbaijan. Within 10 days of the offensive, more than 100,000 people-most of Nagorno-Karabakh's then-estimated population of 120,000-departed for Armenia (population 2.8 million). Azerbaijani authorities subsequently detained several regional officials or ex-officials. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. The region's ethnic Armenian population controlled the region and surrounding territories with the support of Armenian forces since Armenia and Azerbaijan engaged in conflict in the early 1990s, after the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (of which Armenia and Azerbaijan were part). In 1992, the region's legislature issued an internationally unrecognized declaration of independence. About 500,000 Azerbaijanis who formed a majority in areas surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh (and a minority in Nagorno-Karabakh) were displaced during the conflict in the early 1990s. In a six-week war in 2020, Azerbaijan restored control over territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh and a portion of the region itself. Assistance for the Displaced Population The Armenian government is addressing the needs of Nagorno-Karabakh's newly displaced population (others were displaced after the 2020 war). On October 12, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the government had allocated $100 million in assistance, including the provision of about $240 to each displaced person and up to $720 per person for six months' rent and utilities as needed, as well as schooling and job placement services. The International Committee of the Red Cross and U.N. agencies are providing humanitarian assistance. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced the United States would provide Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN12265 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Comrnittees of Congress