Armenians set their homes on fire ahead of a land handover

Ethnic Armenian villages in Nagorno-Karabakh set their homes on fire ahead of tomorrow's land handover to Azerbaijani forces as part of Monday's ceasefire agreement.

Residents hug as they stand near a house set on fire by departing ethnic Armenians, in an area which had held under their military control but is soon to be turned over to Azerbaijan, in the village of Cherektar in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, November 14, 2020 [Stringer/Reuters]

There was a sense of grief and tremendous loss by ethnic Armenians who feel they got the worse end of a ceasefire that put a stop to 6 weeks of fighting that has ravaged both nations.

“Children in Armenia are crying and want to return home, it is such a sorrow,” a resident in the town of Kalbajr said.

Armenia went into the war against Azeri forces with the sole purpose of maintaining control over Nagorno-Karabakh, a region which ethnic Armenians have settled in and controlled since 1994, despite being recognized by the U.N as Azeri land.

As part of the Russian brokered deal, Armenia has to give up Kalbajar and Aghdam district by November 20th, then Lachin district by December 1st.

Everybody is going to burn down their house today … We were given until midnight to leave,” one resident from Charektar, Azerbaijan said.

Armenian opposition leader addresses a crowd of demonstrators in the Armenian capital. Photograph: Gleb Garanich/Reuters

Armenians in the mainland have been in the streets, day and night, demanding their prime minister resign for signing a ceasefire that they view as a betrayal to the motherland. Some have even gone as far as to describe the government's actions as treasonous.

“There is a great sense of loss amongst the few remaining. They are chopping wood and taking whatever they have left and join their families across the border in Armenia,” a woman in Vardenis, Armenia, said.

The six weeks of fighting led to thousands of deaths from both sides of the border. Armenia says approximately 2,317 of its troops died in the conflict, and hundreds of its civilian population in the region were caught in the crossfire.

Azerbaijan has not yet released its official death count. But given their military superiority in both equipment and men, it's rumored that less Azeri forces died compared to their Armenian counterparts.

Armenian forces recover dead bodies of fallen servicemen

“As part of this humanitarian action, the bodies of the dead servicemen of the Armenian armed forces were collected and handed over to the Armenian side,” a statement said. “Also, within the framework of this action, the bodies of six servicemen of the Azerbaijan army,” Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said.

As the exchange of deceased bodies from both sides continue, Armenia's health ministry said it expects to see an increase the country's official death count.

In Baku, Azerbaijan, sounds of jubilation in the capital and across the country continue to echo. There's an atmosphere of redemption and restoration of "sacred" land that was "stolen" from them by Armenia in the 1988-1994 war.

Russian peacekeeping troops, who have been given a 5-year mandate to monitor the region, along with Turkish forces will oversee tomorrow's handover.

According to Russian military officials, nearly 2,000 Russian forces will be placed in 16 designated observation posts in Nagorno-Karabakh and the Lachin corridor dividing Armenia and Azerbaijan.

By: Niza Nondo