980 Citizens in Artsakh Denied Surgical Procedures Due to Blockade

The Information Headquarters of Artsakh has presented a report from the Artsakh government dated March 28-30, 2023. Due to the suspension of planned surgeries at all healthcare facilities in Artsakh, approximately 980 citizens have been deprived of opportunities to resolve health issues through surgery.

As of today, 229 patients have been transferred from Artsakh to Armenia under the mediation and accompaniment of the International Committee of the Red Cross for appropriate medical treatment. Patients cannot be transferred lying down because the Azerbaijani side obstructs the movement of medical evacuation vehicles, and the Red Cross lacks an ambulance, conducting patient transport with regular vehicles, all in a seated position.

As a result of the blockade, around 3,900 individuals, including 570 children, have been unable to return to their homes, although some have already returned with the support of the Red Cross and Russian peacekeepers.

None of the citizens have traveled freely along the Stepanakert-Goris highway, and incidents of bilateral movement have decreased by about 186 times, with the existing movement only occurring with the support of the Red Cross and Russian peacekeepers (1,453 entries and exits instead of 269,500 over 110 days).

No vehicles from Artsakh have passed through the blocked road, while the movement of vehicles operated by the Red Cross and Russian peacekeepers has been nearly 46 times less than it should have been without the blockade (2,234 entries and exits instead of 101,200 over 110 days, all conducted solely by the Red Cross and Russian peacekeepers).

Approximately 12 times less essential goods have been imported solely by the Red Cross and Russian peacekeepers than what should have been without the blockade (3,823 tons instead of around 44,000 tons over 110 days).

During the blockade, Azerbaijan has completely or partially interrupted gas supply from Armenia to Artsakh for a total of 44 days, while electricity supply has been fully disrupted for 81 consecutive days. This has resulted in daily six-hour intermittent outages and additional emergency shutdowns, leading to the closure or reduction of operations in numerous enterprises.

782 business entities (18.3% of the total) have suspended their activities due to the impossibility of operating under blockade conditions, while others are functioning at reduced capacity or with state support.

As a result of the blockade and damage to vital infrastructure, it is estimated that around 9,800 people have lost their jobs and sources of income since the start of the blockade (including cases of temporary job preservation with state support), which is more than 50 percent of employees in the private sector.

Construction work on 32.6 kilometers of roads, dozens of kilometers of water supply lines, thousands of hectares of irrigation systems, 3,717 housing units, and more than 40 social and production infrastructure projects has ceased.

During the blockade, the Artsakh economy has suffered approximately $210 million in losses, leading to a failure to secure nearly 23% of the forecasted annual GDP figure ($903 million).