Three Years After Azerbaijan’s Attack Forced More Than 120,000 Armenians From Artsakh, No Known Armenian Civilian Community Remains
Three years ago, the world watched in horror as more than 120,000 Armenians were forced to flee Artsakh, their indigenous homeland, after months of blockade and Azerbaijan’s Sept. 19, 2023, military offensive. Endless lines of families escaping with children, elderly relatives and the few belongings they could carry evoked the haunting images of Armenians driven from their ancestral homes during the 1915 Armenian Genocide. Today, as we remember that horrific day, the emergency at Armenia’s southern border may be over—but the forced displacement, the loss of homeland and the urgent struggle for justice are not.
The families who arrived in Kornidzor and Goris in September 2023 are now scattered across Armenia and beyond. Thousands have applied for Armenian citizenship and sought permanent housing. Thousands of others have left Armenia.
And in Artsakh itself, there is no known Armenian civilian community left.
The exodus followed Azerbaijan’s Sept. 19, 2023, military offensive. It came after months of blockade and severe shortages of food, medicine and fuel during restrictions on the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Artsakh with Armenia.
A ceasefire was reached the next day. Within days, the Armenian population began leaving.
By Sept. 26, about 28,000 people had reached Armenia. The number climbed to roughly 50,000 a day later. By the end of September, more than 120,000 had crossed the border.
The Armenian Report was in Kornidzor on Sept. 26 as families arrived after journeys that, for some, lasted around 40 hours.
Cars were packed with children, elderly relatives and whatever belongings people could carry.
One elderly woman told The Armenian Report she had worked three jobs to build the home she had just abandoned.
“We saved ourselves and our children,” she said.
Another mother from Stepanakert described searching for her children when the Azerbaijani offensive began and sheltering with them in a basement. During their eventual escape, she said, her young son repeatedly asked whether they were going to die.
For thousands of families, those days were the beginning of a forced displacement that continues three years later.
The journey itself also brought tragedy.
On Sept. 25, a massive deadly explosion struck a fuel depot near Stepanakert as residents lined up for gasoline needed to leave.
For others, the road to Armenia ended in Azerbaijani custody.
Former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan was detained Sept. 27 while attempting to cross into Armenia. Other former Artsakh political and military leaders were also detained as Azerbaijan established full control over the region.
Three years later, 19 Armenian POWs remain detained in Azerbaijan, and their cases continue to be raised internationally.
This week, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers again called for the release of Armenian prisoners held in Baku and raised the right of displaced Artsakh Armenians to return.
Not everyone left Artsakh during the September exodus.
A small number remained behind, including elderly and sick residents and others who did not want to abandon their homes. Red Cross teams spent weeks traveling through largely deserted communities, helping people with food, medicine, contact with relatives and transportation.
A tiny group remained for more than two years.
In January 2026, 10 ethnic Armenians and one ethnic Russian woman who had remained in Artsakh were transferred to Armenia. Armenian authorities said they had requested to leave. Others later disputed whether the decision had been made freely.
Today, there is no Armenian civilian community in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).
For those who reached Armenia, the question in September 2023 was where they would sleep that night.
Three years later, the question is where they will build a permanent home and for others, if/when they could return back to their homeland.
By Jan. 1, 2026, 46,030 forcibly displaced Artsakh residents had left Armenia at some point since the exodus, according to Armenian National Security Service figures previously reported by The Armenian Report. Of those, 30,901 returned, while 15,129 remained abroad.
At the same time, thousands are establishing a more permanent legal status in Armenia. During the first half of 2026 alone, 14,142 displaced Artsakh Armenians applied for Armenian citizenship, according to Armenia’s Migration and Citizenship Service.
Housing remains another major challenge. Armenia continues to provide programs aimed at helping displaced families purchase homes or cover rent, but the transition from emergency assistance to permanent housing is still underway.
The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights said this year that Armenia needed stronger long-term measures on housing, employment and financial stability for displaced Artsakh Armenians. He also said their right to return remained important and that displaced people should be able to make free and informed decisions about their future.
Azerbaijan rejects accusations of ethnic cleansing and maintains that Armenians could have remained and lived under Azerbaijani rule. Armenian officials and displaced residents describe what happened as forced displacement or ethnic cleansing. After documented cases of beheadings, mutilation, torture and killings by Azerbaijani forces during and after the 2020 war, Artsakh Armenians feared that remaining under Azerbaijani rule would expose them to the same violence.
Three years later, the scale of what happened is clear.
More than 120,000 Armenians left Artsakh in the final days of September 2023.
Some were detained on the way out. Others stayed behind for months or years before eventually leaving. Thousands who reached Armenia have since moved abroad, while others are trying to build permanent lives in Armenia.
When The Armenian Report stood in Kornidzor three years ago, the displacement could be seen in an endless line of cars.
Today, it is measured differently — in citizenship applications, housing struggles, families separated across countries and people still held in Baku.
But perhaps the starkest measure is Artsakh itself.
Three years ago, more than 120,000 Armenians called it home.
Today, there is no known Armenian civilian community left.
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