After return of the separatist region under Azerbaijani control, new tenants looted apartments of fleeing Armenians.

After the mass exodus of ethnic Armenians from Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh renamed to Khankendi ever since, the Azerbaijani authorities either tolerated or sanctioned extensive ransacking across the city, according to satellite images published by Bellingcat, an international investigative journalist group.

Hundreds of debris piles are visible near abandoned residential buildings and civilian homes, reflecting the city's emptiness following the mass evacuation of ethnic Armenians in September 2023.

Mapping the locations of these debris piles highlights the scale of ransacking affecting homes across the city (pictured above). This mass displacement, involving over 100,000 refugees, followed Azerbaijan’s military offensive, which reasserted its full control over Nagorno-Karabakh. Although internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory, the region has long hosted a significant Armenian population and was self-governed for over 30 years with Armenia's backing.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are now tasked with negotiating peace, a critical part of which is the right of return for displaced Armenians. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has issued a preliminary order for Azerbaijan to ensure safe and unimpeded return for those who fled after 19 September 2023.

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Azerbaijan has responded by stating preparations are underway for those willing to return but ignored Bellingcat’s enquiries about the satellite evidence of ransacking.

Tracking the origin of debris piles across the city has proven challenging, the group specified, due to limitations in satellite image resolution throughout 2024. However, two videos posted on TikTok helped verify the current situation.

In one video, posted on 25 August 2024, men are seen laughing and dancing on a balcony while personal belongings lay scattered in a nearby courtyard. Bellingcat geolocated this video to the city center. A second video also confirmed the location near “Qarabag University, student hostel,” a site visited by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on 20 September, according to media reports.

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Despite Azerbaijan’s announced plans in July to renovate the university, there was no mention of further development throughout the city. Satellite imagery shows that demolition of buildings near the university began in early May of this year. Armenian reports and accounts from former residents indicate that many demolished buildings were civilian homes, destroyed without consultation.

Susanna Mezhlumyan, a former teacher and resident who spoke to Bellingcat and is now a refugee in Armenia, confirmed that her apartment block was among the first to be destroyed without warning.

Bellingcat has attempted to contact Azerbaijani authorities regarding these demolitions but has received no response.

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The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović reaffirmed recently that those displaced have the right to return safely and with dignity, underscoring the need for careful attention to the rights of those affected by the conflict. Her plea has landed on deaf years in Baku.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is an ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians until 2023, and seven surrounding districts, inhabited mostly by Azerbaijanis until their expulsion during the 1990s pogroms on both sides.

A map of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Credit: AlJazeera

Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought five times since the breakup of the Soviet Union, of which both republics used to be part of until 1991. In the latest armed conflict in September 2023, Baku recaptured the disputed territories entirely and even occupied parts of Armenia.

Between 40,000 and 50,000 people have been killed in the dispute and hundreds of thousands have been displaced or evacuated.

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