Lachin corridor
The Lachin corridor[a] was a mountain road in Azerbaijan that links Armenia and Karabakh.[1]
Being the only road between these two territories, it was considered a humanitarian corridor or "lifeline" to the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.[2][3][4][5] The corridor is in the Lachin District of Azerbaijan, but was ostensibly under the control of a Russian peacekeeping force as provided for in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh armistice agreement. The territory of the corridor included the villages of Zabukh, Sus and the city of Lachin itself until 2022. On 26 August 2022, these settlements were transferred to Azerbaijani control. Four days later, a new route to the south was opened for use that bypasses the settlements of Zabukh, Sus and Lachin and instead passes by the villages of Mets Shen/Boyuk Galadarasi and Hin Shen/Kichik Galadarasi.[6]
Azerbaijan conducted a blockade of the Lachin corridor from December 2022 to September 2023, which was criticized by numerous countries, international organizations, and human rights groups,[7][8][9][10][11][12] many of which considered it a violation of the ceasefire agreement that ended the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. On April 23, 2023, Azerbaijani officials set up a checkpoint in the corridor, claiming it was meant to prevent "illegal" transport of military supplies and natural resources,[13][14] however, the republics of Armenia and Artsakh have denied these allegations and the ceasefire agreement does not explicitly limit the use of the Lachin corridor to humanitarian needs.[15] After a renewed offensive in September 2023, Azerbaijani forces took control of the entirety of Nagorno-Karabakh,[16] which was followed by the exodus of almost all of the Armenian inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh into Armenia through the Lachin corridor.[17]