More than half of Nagorno-Karabakh's ethnic Armenians have now left

FRANCE 24 English

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00:00 Officials in Armenia say that more than half the population of Nagorno-Karabakh or some

00:04 65,000 people have fled the enclave and crossed into Armenia

00:09 Azerbaijan took control the territory last week, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan

00:15 But had been occupied by ethnic Armenians

00:18 the displaced are receiving humanitarian aid as they cross into Armenia before

00:23 Continuing on to find refuge or join relatives in other towns

00:27 France 24's Liza Kamenov reports

00:30 I'm in the town of Goris just 25 kilometers from the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan

00:37 And Goris remains one of the main transit points for displaced Armenian families who are fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh

00:44 Now a lot of them once they pass the Kornidzor border checkpoint

00:48 They are either directed straight to Goris or to other towns in the region like Vaik to get registered and receive humanitarian aid

00:56 But Goris has now reached its full capacity

00:58 So the shelters originally provided and the hotels provided to the refugees are completely full and now we're seeing refugees

01:05 Sleeping in hotel corridors hotel lobbies in their own cars on the streets

01:10 And this is why the Red Cross started setting up these white tents behind me

01:14 To allow refugees to stay there during the night and store their luggage there

01:19 It's very cold at night and a lot of people simply do not know where to go and what to do

01:24 Now everyone here who's coming in knows that there is simply a transit point, but many people are lost. They're still in shock

01:31 They're grieving over what they've left behind and so they don't have a plan. They don't know where to go

01:37 They don't know what to do next

01:38 So a lot of buses are coming and going

01:41 Picking up and sending them to other towns others are going to the capital of Yerevan because they might have family there

01:47 But the influx of refugees is non-stop

01:50 The cars are coming all night and all morning and at this rate local authorities are expecting Nagorno-Karabakh

01:57 To empty itself if not in the coming days than in the coming hours

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