The resulting brief but fierce fighting left hundreds of Karabakh Armenians dead and unaccounted for and separated many others from their loved ones. This is especially true for families that lived in communities cut off from the rest of the region by advancing Azerbaijani troops.
The humanitarian disaster was compounded by Monday’s powerful explosion at a fuel depot outside Stepanakert. At least 68 people died and more than 100 others went missing as a result of the blast.
The blast is the reason why Anzhela Hovannisian lost touch with one of her sons and 14-year-old grandson before fleeing to Armenia along with tens of thousands of other people.
“I don’t know their whereabouts. My heart is being cut into pieces,” the elderly woman told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service shortly after crossing the Armenian border.
“What’s the point of coming here without my kids?” she asked, crying.
RFE/RL correspondents have heard in recent days similar stories from dozens of other refugees. The ICRC, the only international aid organization allowed to operate in Karabakh, is now trying to help such people.
“If you have a family member who went missing or you think was arrested [by Azerbaijani authorities] or if you had to leave behind a loved one or their body, please contact us,” the ICRC’s Yerevan office said in a written notice.
“We get dozens of phone calls every day,” said the office spokeswoman, Zara Amatuni. “People also visit our office.”
Red Cross workers collect their data before checking with other ICRC offices in the region and contacting Armenian and Azerbaijani authorities, said Amatuni. She did not specify how many missing Karabakh residents have been identified or found by the ICRC so far.
Visiting Armenia on Tuesday, the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Samantha Power, said part of $11.5 million allocated by the United States to Karabakh refugees will support “efforts to reunite families.”
“There are many unaccompanied children who have crossed into the Republic of Armenia and it is absolutely urgent that they be reunited with their families,” Power said after talking to refugees in the border town of Goris.
According to the Armenian government, the total number of refugees who have entered Armenia since September 24 reached almost 98,000 on Friday evening. The figure accounts for over 80 percent of Karabakh’s estimated population.