Karvachar residents leaving the city before its transfer to Azerbaijan

The military personnel of Nagorno-Karabakh were withdrawn from the Karvachar District, while civilians continue to leave the territories on the eve of their transfer under the control of Baku. Before leaving their places, migrants set fire to houses, offices, and facilities of infrastructure.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that according to the agreement signed by the authorities of Armenia and Azerbaijan, the deadline for transferring the Karvachar District (the Azerbaijani name is Kelbajar District, – note of the "Caucasian Knot") to the Azerbaijani side was postponed until November 25.

Before leaving the city, residents of Karvachar set on fire the city infrastructure, houses, and offices. They also took out family relics, including gravestones. The above was described in a report prepared by US journalist Patrick Lancaster, who posted it on his YouTube channel on November 23.

"Local residents believe they will not be able to live here. They know that Armenians will not be able to live here after the return of the territory to Azerbaijan," Patrick Lancaster noted.

Another video, also posted on the journalist's YouTube channel on November 23, shows a group of local residents collecting their belongings. The video shows a group of men loading a gravestone into a truck. "People do not know where to go. Most of them leave for Armenia. Someone lives with their relatives, while others are accommodated in hotels," one of the men said.

Further, the footage of the video demonstrates a view on the city from above. Smoke is rising from the roofs of some buildings, and most of them are destroyed. "Residents themselves burned down the houses so that they would not be used by the Azerbaijani side," the author of the video explained.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 24, 2020 at 04:52 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.