Henrikh Mkhitaryan: We are still in time to prevent genocide from unfolding in Nagorno-Karabakh

Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the former captain of the Armenian national football team and midfielder of Inter Milan, has appealed to the leaders of the international community with a call made on social media. It reads as follows:

“After a ten months long blockade, on September 19th Azerbaijan’s military launched a brutal shelling of Nagorno Karabakh. 

“My heart breaks as I learn about the stories of trauma, loss, and severe violations of human rights of thousands of Armenian families who are being forcibly displaced from Nagorno Karabakh and flee for Armenia in a mass exodus. 

“The situation that people in Nagorno-Karabakh are suffering right now, brings memories from History’s darkest hours. We often look back to those dark pages of indiscriminate killings, ethnic cleansing and concentration camps with remorse, and regret that no one did enough to stop it. We cannot bring back the victims from those past atrocities, but we are still in time to prevent genocide from unfolding in the Nagorno-Karabakh.

“In the midst of this horror, we need immediate mobilization of emergency humanitarian aid through the Lachine Corridor and airlift and the deployment of international monitoring missions to put a stop to these crimes against humanity.

“It is now urgent for international leaders to stand up against ethnic cleansing and use all possible political tools to put an end to military actions in the region.

“Children have the right to live in peace in their homeland.”

After a ten months long blockade, on September 19th Azerbaijan’s military launched a brutal shelling of Nagorno Karabakh.

My heart breaks as I learn about the stories of trauma, loss, and severe violations of human rights of thousands of Armenian families who are being forcibly… pic.twitter.com/bAwcHw5ADc

— Henrikh Mkhitaryan (@HenrikhMkh) September 26, 2023