Reporter 'can't leave' Stepanakert as thousands flee

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1 年前

STORY: "My feet are just stuck, stuck to the ground. I don't know, but I just can't leave. I know that I have to, I know. But I'm not ready for that," she said over Zoom interview.

Sargsyan, born 1984, covered human rights and politics, women in conflict and post-conflict environments. She has reported for outlets such as Newsweek and Institute for War and Peace Reporting.

But after Azerbaijan launched a lightning offensive last week to retake the whole region, prompting a mass Armenian exodus, Sargsyan said she felt that she would have to leave Nagorno-Karabakh too eventually.

More than 50,000 people had crossed the border into Armenia by early Wednesday afternoon, nearly half of Karabakh's estimated 120,000 ethnic Armenians. Azerbaijan has promised to protect their rights, but refugees crossing the border told Reuters they preferred exile to life under Baku's rule.