Dozens dead in gas station explosion as Nagorno-Karabakh residents flee to Armenia

By AVET DEMOURIAN
Associated Press

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — An explosion at a crowded gas station in Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region has killed and injured scores of people as thousands of ethnic Armenians have rushed to flee to Armenia. The separatist government’s human rights ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan said 68 people were killed and nearly 300 more were injured by the blast, the cause of which remains unclear. Armenia’s government says 28,000 people — about 23% of the Nagorno-Karabakh region’s population — have fled across the border since Azerbaijan’s swift military operation last week to fully reclaim the region after three decades of separatist rule.