UN mission finds no violations in Nagorno-Karabakh

The United Nations mission that visited Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) on October 1 did not record any violations there.

Reuters writes about this, citing the representative of the UN Secretary-General Stéphane Dujarric.

"Our colleagues were struck by the sudden manner in which the local population fled their homes and the suffering that the experience must have caused them," Dujarric told reporters.

UN officials have not received any reports of violence against civilians since the last ceasefire. They also did not see any damage to agricultural infrastructure or dead animals.

The UN mission aimed to assess the situation on the ground and to accommodate the humanitarian needs of both those who remained and those who moved, Dujarric said, adding that community representatives told the UN that "between 50 and 1,000 ethnic Armenians remain currently in Karabakh."

Dujarric also said that no shops seemed to be open in the city of Stepanakert, which was the capital of the unrecognised Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, and that Azerbaijan was trying to restore healthcare and some basic utilities in the city.

It will be recalled that this was the first UN mission to Nagorno-Karabakh in 30 years.