“The situation is now very, very serious. Indeed, it has been said by people, it may indeed be an impending genocide.”
Those foreboding words from Baroness Caroline Cox, a prominent member of the U.K. House of Lords, summarize the state of affairs in Nagorno-Karabakh.
It’s been more than two months since Azerbaijani protestors blocked the only road into this small, landlocked region preventing the transport of food, medicine, and other essential needs.
“I’m afraid it’s a continuity of aggression by Azerbaijan against the Armenians,” Cox told CBN’s Faithwire. “The netherland of Nagorno-Karabakh was relocated by Stalin inside Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan has been trying to carry out ethnic cleansing of the Armenians from there for a long time.”
As the blockade persists, the 120,000 predominantly Armenian Christians living there are suffering and pleading for assistance.
“The shortage of food is now getting desperate,” Cox said. “The shortage of medicines is very, very serious, especially medicines like insulin, for people with diabetes and the transfer of patients from Karabakh into Armenia needing urgent medical treatment that has been very, very much stymied.”
She continued, “One has already died, so it is a very dire situation indeed.”
Gayane Beglarian’s 4-year-old daughter, Monika, suffers from liver cancer. Gayane recently sounded the alarm about her child being trapped inside Nagorno-Karabakh and risked missing life-saving treatment.
“We were frightened,” she said. “And we were really worried about the situation, because her life depends on this treatment.”
After weeks of anxiously awaiting transport, the Red Cross helped the family exit. Still, Gayane warns other ailing residents need help.
“We have no necessary equipment; we have no doctors,” she said. “We don’t have doctors who can come there and have necessary treatment.”
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Cox also warned about another element of the crisis — the potential destruction of Christian churches, historic landmarks, and entire cultures.
“This could be another stage of genocide, destruction of Christian people, destruction of Christian heritage,” she said. “And we need to pray.”
Cox continued, “The annihilation of Christians is very much part of the agenda of getting rid of the Christians. And that’s one of the things that the Armenians are really worried about, because they will lose part of their unique Christian heritage.”
As the chaos continues, prayers for peace, eased tensions, and resolution are desperately needed.
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