The Czech humanitarian organization People in Need (Člověk v tísni) has initiated an SOS Armenia collection to provide assistance to the thousands of ethnic Armenians fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh. The exodus has occurred in the aftermath of the surrender of Armenian forces in Karabakh to Azerbaijani troops last week.

The situation on the border is described as critical by representatives of the organization, which already has a team in the area engaged in distributing food, providing hygiene kits, and assisting with security. As of Tuesday evening, over 19,000 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh and entered Armenia.

Simon Panek, director of People in Need, stated, “We will provide people with water, food, shopping vouchers, mattresses, blankets, and clothes. We will help to equip accommodation centers, support children and the elderly, and provide other basic humanitarian assistance. We ask the public to contribute to the SOS Armenia collection.”

The initial humanitarian aid purchases were made possible through the use of CZK 1 million from the Friends of People in Need humanitarian fund.

People in Need has maintained a permanent mission in Armenia since 2003, but its involvement in providing humanitarian aid to the country dates back to 1988 when a group of Prague students launched a fundraising campaign in response to the devastating earthquake. This effort marked the organization’s beginnings and its commitment to humanitarian work.

Nagorno-Karabakh, while internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, was seized by Armenian separatists with the support of Yerevan in a violent war that concluded in 1994. In 2020, during a six-week conflict with Armenia, Azerbaijan recaptured districts bordering the region and a portion of Karabakh. The war ended with a ceasefire brokered by Russia, which has since maintained approximately 2,000 troops in the region as a peacekeeping force. The conflict in the 1990s was marked by numerous civilian massacres.

Before the recent events, approximately 120,000 ethnic Armenians resided in the area. Their leadership has asserted that people now fear persecution, ethnic cleansing, and living under Azerbaijani rule, which has prompted the mass exodus and the urgent need for humanitarian aid and support.

Article by Prague Forum