Azerbaijan extends deadline for Armenian forces to leave ceded territory

A man gestures as he shows the roof of a kindergarten which suffered of bombing attacks on July 18, 2020, in the village of Aygepar, Tavush region, recently damaged by shelling during armed clashes on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. - Russia said on July 17, 2020, it is prepared to mediate peace talks between ex-Soviet rivals Armenia and Azerbaijan after fighting escalated along their shared border. (Photo by Karen MINASYAN / AFP) (Photo by KAREN MINASYAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Azerbaijan has allowed extending a deadline for Armenian troops to pull out of the Kalbacar district of Nagorno-Karabakh till November 25. Kalbacar, known as Karvachar to Armenians, was ceded to Azerbaijan as part of a reconciliation agreement that stopped a six-week war.

The initial deadline was Sunday, November 15. The timetable for removal from the Aghdam and Lachin districts is maintained. Armenian separatists have held all three sections since a war that ended in 1994.

Any pockets of territory in Nagorno-Karabakh have now been handed over to Azerbaijan, leading some Armenians to endure what Azeris endured 30 years ago.

Armenians in other places are having to live with doubt, including in Stepanakert.

It hasn’t been given to Azerbaijan, but many of its 55,000 citizens fled as the fight in Nagorno-Karabakh got closer. However, some have chosen to stay.

“Anywhere other would I be?” said one woman, “I’m in my house. Nobody can tell me anything.”

Last week the Armenian government said it had no other choice but to sign the Moscow-brokered ceasefire deal, citing anxieties over its ability to hold any territory if the fighting continued.

The new agreement includes the deployment of 2,000 Russian soldiers in the region. The Kremlin said Vladimir Putin has also asked Azerbaijan to protect Christian shrines under their power where there is a majority Muslim community.

On Saturday night, citizens in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, ignited candles on Freedom Square in memory of their troops killed in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The country says it lost 2,317 soldiers in the conflicts with Azerbaijan, but notwithstanding that, there are Armenian troops who say they should not have given up.

“We continued to win we could have won,” insisted Sergeant Levon Gevorgyan. “We just wanted some assistance or help. People from this small town were fighting against Azerbaijan, Turkey, terrorists from different countries.”

The guns have gone silent, but some personalities in the region asking for how long?