Artsakh facing fuel shortage amid Azerbaijani blockade

Artsakh is facing shortage of petrol, diesel fuel, liquefied and compressed gas following Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin corridor, the sole road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, as well as the gas supply cut-off, the Artsakh InfoCenter said in a statement on Wednesday.

The government reached an agreement with local entrepreneurs to switch to a saving mode to avoid a fuel crisis, it said.

“Fuel will first be given to the ambulance service, public transport and special services,” the statement said.

People are urged to be economical and to use vehicles only in case of strict necessity.

The blockade began on Monday morning, when a group of Azerbaijanis, who claimed to be environmental activists, stopped traffic on the only road connecting Karabakh to the outside world, citing “illegal” mining activity there. Later on Tuesday, Azerbaijan also cut off the gas supply to Artsakh.