Aid shipments and evacuations as Azerbaijan reasserts control over breakaway province

By JOANNA KOZLOWSKA
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — More badly needed humanitarian aid was on its way to the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh via both Azerbaijan and Armenia. It was coming days after Baku reclaimed control of the province and began talks with representatives of its ethnic Armenian population on reintegrating the area, prompting some residents to flee their homes for fear of reprisals. A cease-fire was announced in Nagorno-Karabakh on Wednesday, just a day after Azerbaijan launched heavy artillery fire against ethnic Armenian forces, toning down fears of a third full-scale war over the region. Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist authorities made sizable concessions: disbanding the region’s defense forces and withdrawing Armenia’s military contingent, although the region’s final status remains open.