Karabakh separatists to disband after surrender to Azerbaijan

YEREVAN: Ethnic Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh on Thursday agreed to dissolve their government by the end of the year and become a full part of Azerbaijan in the wake of Baku´s lightning offensive.

The dramatic announcement came moments after it became clear that more than half of the rebel region´s population had fled the advancing Azerbaijani forces.

It drew the curtain on one of the world´s longest and seemingly most irreconcilable “frozen conflicts” -- one that successive administrations in Washington and leaders across Europe had failed to resolve in ceaseless rounds of talks.

But it also raised the levels of anger in Yerevan. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accused Azerbaijan of conducting “ethnic cleansing” and called on the international community to act.

Baku´s 24-hour blitz ended with a September 20 truce in which the rebels pledged to disarm and enter “reintegration” talks. Two rounds of talks were held as Azerbaijani forces worked with Russian peacekeepers to collect separatist weapons and enter towns that had remained outside Baku´s control since the Caucasus neighbours first fought over the region in the 1990s. Azerbaijani troops have now approached the edge of Stepanakert -- an emptying rebel stronghold where separatist leader Samvel Shakhramanyan issued his decree.