Berdzor residents prepare to leave their houses

More than 150 believers have attended the last service at the Berdzor Church. Local residents fear unemployment in the cities they will move to, and hope that authorities' support the will allow them to solve their housing problems.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the administration of the Kashatag District of Nagorno-Karabakh reported that residents of Berdzor (the Azerbaijani name is Lachin) and the village of Akhavno (Zabukh) must leave their houses by August 20. They have to pack their belongings in haste; and the money allocated by authorities for relocation is not enough, local residents have complained.

Akhavno villagers have demanded that the village be included in the zone of the new transport corridor, which runs 1200 meters off the village. They confirmed that they were not allowed to burn down or damage their houses before quitting under the threat of non-payment of compensations. Despite this, a resident of the village of Akhavno has burned down his house and posted the video in social networks.

Vaagn Asatryan, a resident of Berdzor, has moved his wife and three children to Yerevan. According to his story, he pays 130,000 drams per month (USD 320) for renting an apartment. He hopes that when the financial assistance begins to be paid, the family will feel a little better.

Asatryan is positive about the fact that people burn their houses down, but he did not do it himself, because "he has nothing to hope for except for the certificate for the purchase of housing."

Armine Saginyan from Armenia has expressed her dissatisfaction with the authorities. "After the 2020 war, nothing was done to make people live without shocks – for two years we have been surrendering territories; our militaries perish; more and more refugees appear," she has stated.

Let us remind you that on August 25, the Berdzor Corridor passes under Azerbaijan's control.