17:35, 9 October 2020

Over 500 Azerbaijani citizens await departure home from Kullar camp

A tent camp in Kullar. Screenshot of the video by the "Caucasian Knot" https://youtu.be/FvC3Fw73mK4

More than 500 people stay in the camp near the Dagestani village of Kullar after their departure to Azerbaijan was suspended due to the aggravation of the Karabakh conflict. The patrons decided to transport some of these people by air via Turkey.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that a temporary accommodation centre (TAC) in the form of a tent camp was set up near the Dagestani village of Kullar for the citizens of Azerbaijan, who could not get home due to the border closure because of coronavirus. Its inhabitants were sent home in groups every week. The Azerbaijani authorities said that the next shipment is expected in the coming days, but on October 2, the date was not announced.

The number of people in the camp is decreasing – now, from 500 to 600 people remain there, said Afig Allakhverdiev, the spokesman of the National-Cultural Autonomy of Azerbaijanis in the Moscow Region. He believes that people are leaving the camp because they "have no hope that the borders will be opened in the near future."

The initiative group of patrons continues providing all possible assistance to camp residents. They also decided to send from 100 to 200 people to Azerbaijan via Turkey, first of all those who had stayed in the border area longer than others.

Azerbaijani citizens complained about the uncertainty with their return home and poor living conditions in and around the camp. In August, the camp ceased coping with the flow of people willing to go home.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 9, 2020 at 09:56 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Ilyas Kapiev

Source: CK correspondent