UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- The world body is working with the Armenian government to support the rapidly rising influx of refugees across the border from Azerbaijan, said a UN spokesman on Friday.
According to the latest official figures from the government, there are about 93,000 men, women and children who have crossed into Armenia, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) noted that refugees are mainly arriving in the Syunik region of southern Armenia. The UNHCR pointed out that an inter-agency response plan is being finalized, to be followed by a joint financial appeal, he said.
UNHCR teams have been on the ground, at the border since day one, when the first groups of refugees arrived exhausted, frightened and apprehensive about the future. The UNHCR is working with the Armenian government on technical equipment, including laptops, tablets and other items to facilitate the registration of people, said the spokesman.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has placed two mobile warehouses in Goris for non-food items storage and a mobile kitchen serving up to 3,000 people every day. The WFP has also delivered 4,000 food parcels to support 16,000 people in need in the Syunik area, he said.
The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has established a safe space in the southeastern town of Goris, serving nearly 300 children every day along with their parents, backed by a humanitarian hub. UNICEF also provided health authorities with essential medicine and supplies for children, he said.
The UN Population Fund is supporting thousands of women in transit centers in the southeastern regions of Syunik and Vayots Dzor with 8,000 dignity kits, including drinking water, sanitary pads, soap, and more. Supporting health authorities, the UN Team in Armenia has distributed 150,000 health kits to support the current number of refugees, along with their host communities, said Dujarric.
Along with the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the UN Development Programme are preparing to launch a psychosocial support scheme to cover the needs of over 12,000 refugees, he said.
The refugee influx followed last week's Azerbaijani military offensive in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at loggerheads over the mountainous region since 1988. Peace talks have been held since 1994 when a cease-fire was agreed on. But there have been sporadic minor clashes since then. A new round of major armed conflict broke out along the contact line in September 2020, before Russia brokered a new cease-fire agreement in November 2020. The latest escalation occurred on Sept. 19, 2023, followed by a Russian-brokered cease-fire the next day.
