Freedom House: Azerbaijan must restore gas supplies to Karabakh

PanARMENIAN.Net - Azerbaijan must prevent a humanitarian crisis by restoring unhindered gas supplies to the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, Freedom House has said, as the people of Artsakh have been left without gas in freezing temperatures.

The organization said the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh have endured weeks of freezing temperatures without heat or hot water.

The European Union Lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano said earlier that the bloc is "concerned" about reports of a renewed disruption of the gas supply to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Beginning from March 8, over 100,000 residents in Karabakh were deprived of gas for over 10 days, and because the pipeline was damaged in territories currently under Baku's control, the Azerbaijani military would not allow the Armenian side to eliminate the problem. Gas supply resumed on March 19, only to be interrupted again on March 22.

The Azerbaijan armed forces have also been violating the ceasefire and using loudspeakers to spread panic among the population of Nagorno-Karabakh, attempting to force them to leave their homes.