When more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians fled their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh last September, Nina Shahverdyan and her family embarked on a treacherous journey to escape.
“People died of heart attacks. People died because they were just too old to live through that pain. Children were crying,” she remembers.
In just a matter of days, Azerbaijan’s military was able to reclaim all the lost lands from the war triggered by the Soviet Union’s collapse.
However, what concerns Armenians now is the possibility that their neighbor, Azerbaijan, desires even more territory, despite President Aliyev’s claim of being closer to a peace deal than ever before.
Armenians interpret Aliyev’s reference to Armenia as “Western Azerbaijan” as a sign of an impending invasion. This fear is exacerbated by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s recent warning of Azerbaijan’s intentions to initiate a “new, large-scale war”. Eventually, Pashinyan agreed to return four abandoned border villages, signaling potential progress in relations.
Although Azerbaijan denies Armenian apprehensions, President Aliyev insists that Armenia provide his nation with a free railroad corridor through its territory to Nakhichevan.
On the other hand, Armenia aims to retain control over the road, but Aliyev has previously threatened to take the corridor by force.
In response to the escalating tensions, an increasing number of civilians in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, are now undergoing military training organized by volunteer organizations. Their objective is to be prepared to defend themselves in a country where all borders are vulnerable to attack.
