Artsakh people facing daily struggle, ombudsman says

The Armenians of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) are facing a daily struggle to survive under the months-long blockade imposed by Azerbaijan, the country’s Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Gegham Stepanyan told the Brazilian news agency Estadão.

"The daily life of a person living in Artsakh today is a struggle,” the ombudsman’s office quoted him as saying on Friday.

“Every day people have to adjust to the shifting schedule of the rolling blackouts in order to be able to plan their day and tasks accordingly. Finding food or any other essential product is one of the biggest challenges today.

“As the food crisis hit Artsakh immediately, people have to queue at the shops for hours in the dead of winter to get a very limited amount of foodstuffs by coupons introduced by the Artsakh government,” Stepanyan stressed.

Azerbaijan has blocked the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Artsakh to Armenia and the outside world, since December 12.