Photos: Thousands of ethnic Armenians flee from Nagorno-Karabakh

Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh walk along the road from Nagorno-Karabakh to Kornidzor in the Syunik region of Armenia. [Vasily Krestyaninov/AP Photo]

Hungry and exhausted ethnic Armenian families are fleeing their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan defeated separatist forces in the breakaway region last week.

The ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh – part of Azerbaijan that had been beyond Baku’s control since the dissolution of the Soviet Union – began fleeing into Armenia this week after separatist forces were routed in a lightning operation by Azerbaijan’s military.

At least 19,000 of the 120,000 ethnic Armenians who call Nagorno-Karabakh home have already crossed into Armenia, Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan was quoted by Russia’s TASS news agency as saying, with hundreds of cars and buses crammed with belongings snaking down the mountain road out of Azerbaijan.

Some fled packed into the back of open-topped trucks, others on tractors. Grandmother of four Narine Shakaryan arrived in her son-in-law’s old car with six people packed inside. The 77km (48-mile) drive had taken 24 hours, she said. They had eaten no food.

As Armenians rushed to leave the Karabakh capital, known as Stepanakert by Armenia and Khankendi by Azerbaijan, fuel stations were overwhelmed by panic buying. The authorities there said at least 20 people were killed and 290 injured in a massive blaze when a fuel storage facility blew up on Monday.

Thousands of Armenians have streamed out of Nagorno-Karabakh after the Azerbaijani military reclaimed full control of the breakaway region last week. [Irakli Gedenidze/Reuters]

Hundreds of vehicles were heading to Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday. [Vasily Krestyaninov/AP Photo]

Refugees from the Nagorno-Karabakh region ride in the back of a truck as they arrive in the border village of Kornidzor, Armenia. [Irakli Gedenidze/Reuters]

A child sleeps on a bag containing clothes and other belongings as ethnic Armenians gather in the centre of Stepanakert - also known as Khankendi - in hopes of leaving the Nagorno-Karabakh region for Armenia. [Aspram Avanesyan/AP Photo]

The flow of vehicles was continuous, with families piling their belongings on top of their cars and stopping only a few seconds at the last Azerbaijani checkpoint before entering Armenia. [Alain Jocard/AFP]

An ethnic Armenian man from Nagorno-Karabakh embraces his child as he arrives to receive humanitarian aid at a temporary camp in Goris in the Syunik region of Armenia. [Vasily Krestyaninov/AP Photo]

Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh repair their car on the road from Nagorno-Karabakh to Kornidzor in Armenia. [Vasily Krestyaninov/AP Photo]

A convoy of cars filled with ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh moves towards Kornidzor in Armenia. [Vasily Krestyaninov/AP Photo]

A man hands bread to a refugee woman from the Nagorno-Karabakh region who arrived in the back of a truck in the border village of Kornidzor, Armenia. [Irakli Gedenidze/AP Photo]

Refugees queue in vehicles near the border town of Kornidzor. [Alain Jocard/AFP]

Russian peacekeepers evacuate Nagorno-Karabakh civilians at an undisclosed location. [Russian Defence Ministry/EPA]