Villagers from Lachin Corridor tell details of the three days in blockade

The villages of Khin Shen and Mets Shen of Nagorno-Karabakh were unblocked following the results of negotiations of Russian peacemakers with Azerbaijan. Negotiations are underway to withdraw Azerbaijani militaries out of the village of Ekhtsaokh.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 13, Azerbaijani militaries took control over the only road connecting the village of Khin Shen in the Shushi District of Nagorno-Karabakh with the Berdzor (Lachin)-Shushi highway. Residents of Khin Shen were trapped in the village, while those of the neighbouring Mets Shen community left their homes.

"The Russian peacemakers have reached an agreement on the withdrawal of Azerbaijani forces from the villages of Khin Shen and Mets Shen. But in the vicinity of Khin Shen, several Azerbaijani armed groups of 15 people each remain. Negotiations are underway, so that these groups also retreat to their former positions," said Tigran Tsatryan, the acting head of the Shushi District.

Mr Tsatryan has added that on December 15, Azerbaijan put forward its claims on the village of Ekhtsaokh and demanded that all its residents, as well as Armenian militaries, leave the village. However, the intervention of Russian peacemakers has prevented the conflict.

Samvel Tavadyan, a teacher of the Mets Shen village school, believes that Azerbaijan "seeks to occupy strategically important heights."

Angin Sargsyan said that her family settled in Khin Shen after leaving the village of Talish in the Martakert District due to the renewal of hostilities in 2016. "We were surrounded for three days, but I was not ready to leave my home again. Here we all started from scratch, created a house and a household," said the woman.