The last family residing in the Aghavno village in Artsakh Berdzor (Lachin) region vacated their home and left, two days before the August 25 deadline imposed on them by Artsakh authorities who, along with Russian peacekeepers and the Armenian government, caved in to Azerbaijani threats and ordered the evacuation of the population.
“My sons, my husband and I slept alone in the village for a week,” Aida Asatryan, an Aghavno resident told Azatutyun.am’s Armenian Service. “I didn’t see anyone else. We were the last ones to leave with out luggage, there was no one else.”
The family has not been able to find another house to move into and they also own livestock. On Monday, they were instructed to leave the village by 11 a.m. local time Tuesday morning and were warned that there were already Azerbaijani snipers in the area.
“They came to remove our belongings, they didn’t think that there was anyone left in the village,” Asatryan told Azatutyun.am’s Armenian Service.
They observed that machinery was already deployed to tear down the bridge connecting the communities of Berdzor.
Meanwhile, other residents who had left their homes but wanted to return for one last time were barred from entering the village—not by Russian peacekeepers or Azerbaijani forces, but security officials in Artsakh.
Meline Baghdagulyan told Azatutyun.am that she decided to return with her husband and children for half an hour, to say goodbye to the birthplace of her four children. They left the village days ago and went to Goris in Armenia’s Syunik Province.
“Russian peacekeepers gave us the go ahead, and even twice told their command,” Baghdagulyan said, adding that they were asked how long they intended to stay.
As they attempted to enter the village, they were told that no one was allowed to enter—the order came from Stepanakert.
“As far as I know today is the 23rd [of August]. There’s still the 24th. The road is supposed to close on the 25th,” Emma Isakhanyan, another Aghavno resident to Azatutyun.am on Tuesday.
Artsakh’s Interior Ministry told Azatutyun that the police have been assigned the to ensure order. That is why people who have already left are prohibited from entering Aghavno to prevent residents from returning and burning down their homes.
“We and other state bodies also called on residents to not burn their houses, to not demolish them, to not loot infrastructures. Government agencies have more information and take more circumstances into consideration when making decisions than Facebook activists,” the Minister of Territorial Administration of Artsakh Hayk Khanumyan said in a social media post on Tuesday.
