The ICRC has transported scores of such persons to Armenian hospitals since Baku effectively blocked Karabakh’s land link with Armenia in December. Only Red Cross vehicles as well as convoys of Russian peacekeepers have been able to pass through the road.
The ICRC suspended the medical evacuations in late April due to Azerbaijani checkpoints that were set up on the road in what Armenia considers a gross violation of the 2020 ceasefire agreement.
The health authorities in Stepanakert announced on Friday that the ICRC helped to transport 15 Karabakh patients to Armenian hospitals. They said 12 other Karabakh Armenians were escorted back to Karabakh after undergoing urgent medical treatment in Yerevan.
Several dozen other Karabakh residents are still awaiting transfer to Armenia. Three of them are in an “extremely severe” condition, according to the Karabakh health ministry.
Dozens of others were transported to Yerevan by the Russian peacekeepers this month. They included Stepanakert resident Narine Danielian and her 10-year-old son suffering from multiple illnesses.
Danielian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that they reached Armenia earlier this week in a convoy of three ambulances escorted by Russian servicemen. She said they were stopped and had their passports checked at two Azerbaijani checkpoints.
Azerbaijan claims that the checkpoints were set up to stop the transfer of weapons from Armenia to Karabakh.
The Armenian side has strongly denied any arms supplies. Russia and the United States have also criticized Baku’s move.