A United Nations mission completed its mission in Nagorno Karabakh on Sunday, 1 October. The statement is published on the UN webpage.
The visit lasted no more than a day. In statement Stepanakert is referred by Azerbaijani toponym as Khankendi.
The UN reports says that in parts of the city that their team had visited, they saw no damage to civilian public infrastructure, including hospitals, schools and housing, or to cultural and religious structures.
According to the report, between 50 and 1,000 ethnic Armenians remain in the Karabakh region.
“The mission was struck by the sudden manner in which the local population left their homes and the suffering the experience must have caused. The mission did not come across any reports – neither from the local population interviewed nor from the interlocutors - of incidences of violence against civilians following the latest ceasefire”, the report says.
With limited access to rural areas, no information was available on livestock and farming, including whether the farmers have access to or are ready for wheat sowing in the upcoming season. The mission did not observe any destruction of agricultural infrastructure or dead animals from the road.
Fron the visit the mission couldn’t determine whether the local population intends to return.
“What was clear is that there is a need to build trust and confidence, and this will require time and effort from all sides”, say UN representatives.
The UN in Azerbaijan plans to continue to regularly visit the region. The mission calls for all efforts to be made to ensure the protection of the rights of the local population.
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