Villagers in Nagorno-Karabakh burn houses, flee to Armenia ahead of Azerbaijan takeover
- Residents leave Kalbajar which is one of the seven districts that will be transferred to Azerbaijan as part of a peace deal
- The fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan erupted in late September and raged for six weeks, leaving more than 3,000 dead
Residents of the Kalbajar district in Azerbaijan that was controlled by Armenian separatists for decades began a mass exodus this week after it was announced Azerbaijan would regain control on Sunday.
Fighting between the separatists backed by Armenian troops and the Azerbaijan army erupted in late September and raged for six weeks, leaving more than 3,000 dead and forcing thousands to flee their homes.
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In the village of Charektar, on the border with the neighbouring district of Martakert, which is to remain under Armenian control, at least six houses were on fire on Saturday morning with thick plumes of grey smoke rising over the valley.
“This is my house, I can’t leave it to the Turks,” as Azerbaijanis are often called by Armenians, said one resident as he threw burning wooden planks and rags soaked in petrol into a completely empty house.
“Everybody is going to burn down their house today … We were given until midnight to leave,” he said.
On Friday at least 10 houses were burned in and around Charektar.
