January 23, 2023 - 14:24 AMT
Azerbaijan again cuts Karabakh gas supply amid freezing temperatures

The Azerbaijani side again completely shut the only gas pipeline from Armenia to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), the NKR InfoCenter reports.

Karabakh receives gas from Armenia through a pipeline passing through Azerbaijani-controlled territory. Azerbaijan regularly cuts off supplies, aggravating a humanitarian crisis in Karabakh caused Baku’s blockade of the sole road connecting the Armenian-populated region to Armenia.

“The shutdown of natural gas in Artsakh for the number of times in recent days, at a temperature of minus 5 degrees Celsius below zero, once again proves that official Baku is pursuing an open terrorist policy against the 120,000 besieged civilian population of Artsakh, with the connivance of the international community,” the InfoCenter said.

It should be noted that earlier, on January 9, because of the intervention of the Azerbaijani side, the only high-voltage Goris-Stepanakert electric line - 110 kV – was also disrupted, depriving the residents of Artsakh of a stable supply of electricit.”

Given the current weather conditions, electricity is supplied from the limited internal resources of Artsakh, with rolling blackouts lasting 6 hours a day, which tends to constantly increase.

Since December 12, the sole road connecting Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia - the Lachin Corridor - has been blocked by self-described Azerbaijani environmentalists. Karabakh residents have reported food and fuel shortages, while hospital patients don't have access to essential medicines, with only a handful allowed transfer to facilities in Armenia proper.