Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) government presented an update on the situation in blockaded Artsakh.
It has been half a year that Azerbaijan has closed the only road connecting Artsakh to Armenia and the world. Due to the blockade, 30 thousand children from Artsakh are deprived of basic rights. they cannot get a full education, participate in international events and tournaments, solve other health and livelihood problems.
The children of Artsakh have once again expressed their protest to the international community from the territory of the symbolic monument "We are our mountains", where the "Ararich" charitable foundation organized a cultural entertainment for them.
About 1,420 people have been deprived of the opportunity to receive necessary medical treatment due to suspension of planned surgeries in all medical facilities of Artsakh increasing by about 15 cases in the last 4 days.
As of today, 492 patients have been transferred from Artsakh to Armenia to receive appropriate medical care with the mediation and accompaniment of the International Committee of the Red Cross and another 70 accompanied by Russian peacekeepers to receive appropriate treatment. Because of the Azerbaijani additional obstacles the activities of the ICRC had been suspended for almost a month, the transfers were restored recently. Due to the Red Cross not having an ambulance and only being able to transport patients with an ordinary vehicle, it is not possible to transport patients needing to lay down because Azerbaijan has obstructed the movement of Artsakh ambulances.
Around 3,900 people, including 550 children, have been separated from their homes as a result of the blockade, however, some have already returned home with the assistance of the Red Cross and Russian peacekeepers.
No citizen travelled freely along the Stepanakert-Goris highway (Lachin (Qashatagh) corridor), and the cases of two-way movement of people decreased by about 198 times, and only with the support of the Red Cross and RF peacekeepers (instead of 450.800 people in 184 days, 2,276 entry and exit. In the last 4 days, only 141 cases of entry and exit of citizens were registered who returned to their homes accompanied by peacekeepers or left for the Republic of Armenia due to urgent humanitarian needs).
Not a single vehicle of Artsakh citizens passed through the blocked road, and the movement vehicles was almost 59 times less than it should have been without the blockade (instead of 169,280 2,875 vehicles entered and exited in 184 days, and that only by Red Cross and Russian peacekeepers). That means only 51 vehicle entries and exits were recorded in the last 4 days.
About 13 times less vital goods were imported by the Red Cross and Russian peacekeepers than should have been without the blockade (5.635 tons instead of about 73,600 tons in 184 days, only 169 tons of which in the last 4 days).
During the blockade, Azerbaijan completely or partially interrupted the sole gas supply into Artsakh for a total of 118 days, and electricity supply has been completely disrupted for 155 days. This has led to daily blackouts and additional emergency shutdowns, resulting in many facilities closing or curtailing operations.
860 business entities (20,1 % of the total) have suspended their activities due to the impossible operating conditions under the blockade, while the remaining operate partially or with state support.
At estimated 11,000 people (including state-supported temporary work placements and more than 50% of private sector workers) have lost jobs and sources of income as a result of the impact on the economy from the blockade and disruptions of vital infrastructure.
Construction work of 32.6 kilometers of roads, tens of kilometers of water lines, irrigation systems for thousands of hectares of land, 3,717 apartments, and more than 40 social and industrial infrastructures have been stopped.
During the blockade, the economy of the Republic of Artsakh suffered a loss of around 350 million US dollars, leading to decline of the predicted annual GDP index (903 million dollars) by more than 39 percent.
