Photography: Antoine Agoudjian
On September 27, 2020, clashes erupted between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region in the South Caucasus. It is internationally recognized as a part of Azerbaijan but inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians. The ceasefire agreement was signed on November 10, 2020, by Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia. Under the agreement, Armenia should hand over the Kelbajar region to Azerbaijan.
French photographer Antoine Agoudjian has captured the moment in which some ethnic Armenian citizens in Nagorno-Karabakh set their houses on fire before fleeing to Armenia following the ceasefire agreement that handed over parts of the territory to Azerbaijan. Disputes over control of that territory between Asia and Europe have occurred for centuries. Karabakh became part of the Russian empire in the 19th century. In the 1920s, as Armenia and Azerbaijan became part of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijani authorities received control over Karabakh.
Tensions between Christian Armenians and mostly Muslim Azeris began again since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Humanitarian organizations have condemned that both Azerbaijani and Armenian forces committed war crimes during recent clashes, including the decapitation of captives and the desecration of the corpses of opposing forces, according to Amnesty International. Over 5,000 people died, and thousands were displaced.
Under the ceasefire agreement on November 10, the region of Kelbajar located in the north should be ceded to Azerbaijan. Some Armenians burned their houses before leaving their ancestral territory, where there are churches dating from the 4th, 9th, 13th centuries.
A funeral of a young soldier at the central cemetery of Stepanakert, which is the main city in Nagorno-Karabakh and is considered by Armenians as the capital of the unrecognized Republic of Artsakh. Surrounded by his family and his companions, he was killed on the battlefield during intensive fighting against the Azerbaijani army.
The region between the towns of Chouchi and Stepanakert. Intensive fighting took place in the mountains near the strategic town of Chouchi.
In the town of Stepanakert, shelters are set up in the basement of a church, made available for refugees who had to leave their homes threatened by bombardments by the Azerbaijani army.
The archbishop Parkev Mardirossian, a religious and charismatic figure of the region who fought to protect his land during the war with Azerbaijan in the 1990s, celebrates the religious office for the refugees every evening.
Daily ceremony performed by the Armenian priest in the rubble of the building of the Holy Savior Cathedral (commonly referred to as Ghazanchetsots) in the town of Chouchi. It is one of the largest churches in the Armenian world. It was built in the nineteenth century, and it was bombed during the Azerbaijani offensive that began on September 27.
A young soldier wounded on the front receives treatment at a military hospital. All the service was transferred to the basement of the building to protect the medical staff and the wounded from the bombardments.
Seriously wounded soldiers are received in the surgery room of the central hospital of Stepanakert. The unit was designed ten years ago in the basement of the hospital to apprehend a war situation. Two French anesthesiologists of Armenian origin and one surgeon support the medical teams.
Under the ceasefire agreement on November 10, the region of Kelbajar located in the north should be ceded to Azerbaijan. Some Armenians burned their houses before leaving their ancestral territory, where there are churches dating from the 4th, 9th, 13th centuries.
Armenian soldiers in the position facing the Azeri aggression, on the 1st eastern front line in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenian position resistant to the Azerbaijani advance in Lachin district, in Azerbaijan.
Armenian military position in the region of Martakert following the ceasefire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Deployment of the Russian army following the signing of the surrender signed on November 9 after 45 days of war between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Martakert region. 1st Northern front line. The position which will undergo numerous enemy bombardments sometime later. Mobilization bringing together several generations of soldiers, some of whom had fought in previous wars.
Military hospital in Martakert region where Armenian soldiers wounded on the front are treated.
Military hospital in Martakert region where Armenian soldiers wounded on the front are treated.
Over five years, the Russian army will ensure the security of civilian populations and the monitoring of the implementation of the agreements provided for in the treaty.
Chouchi City gate. Deployment of Armenian tanks in the face of the incursion of Azerbaijani commandos into the very interior of the city. The strategic stake of the city of Chouchi is crucial, and it overlooks the capital.
Armenian military position in the Martuni region. Following the capitulation, a ceasefire agreement was signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan, coordinated by Russia.
A victim of the Azerbaijani bombings in the city of Stepanakert remained several hours under the ruins before being extracted from her home by a neighbour.
