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‘Azerbaijan Planned and Organized’ Depopulation of Artsakh, Says French Foreign Minister


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‘Azerbaijan Planned and Organized’ Depopulation of Artsakh, Says French Foreign Minister

posted on Oct 11 2023 21:46:23 UTC by Asbarez Staff via Asbarez.com

Azerbaijan planned and organized the exodus of more than 100,000 Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, France’s Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said during a question and answer session in the French Senate on Wednesday.

“No matter how it tries to portray the situation, yes, Azerbaijan planned and organized the exodus of more than 100,000 Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh. This is a crime that cannot go unpunished,” the French foreign minister said.

Colonna said France will demand the adoption of a resolution within the framework of the UN Security Council that will create conditions for the return of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians.

She stressed the need to protect the historical and cultural rights of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh and insisted on permanent international presence in the region.

During a visit to Armenia last week, Colonna said Armenia needed to be able to defend itself two weeks after Azerbaijani forces invaded Nagorno-Karabakh despite the presence of Russian peacekeepers.

She said Paris has agreed to deliver military equipment to Armenia.

After visiting displaced Artsakh residents, including burn patients injured in a Stepanakert fuel depot station explosion, the minister pledged military support.

“I would like to publicly state that France has agreed on future contracts with Armenia which will allow the delivery of military equipment to Armenia so that it can ensure its defense. You’ll understand that I can’t go into more detail at the moment,” Colonna said.

Colonna’s pledge of military support to Armenia further angered Baku with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan complaining to European Council President Charles Michel last week about what he called the “anti-Azerbaijan” posturing by Paris and the EU.

Aliyev claimed that such a pledge from France will complicate peace efforts in the region.

Baku Steps Up Claims on 8 Armenian Villages ‘Occupied By Armenia’

posted on Oct 11 2023 21:46:23 UTC by Contributor via Asbarez.com

YEREVAN (Azatutyun.am)—Azerbaijan continued to accuse Armenia on Wednesday of occupying “eight Azerbaijani villages” amid growing fears in Yerevan that it could launch another military offensive after regaining control over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev demanded the “de-occupation” of those villages in a weekend phone call with European Council President Charles Michel. It followed Michel’s joint meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held in Spain. Aliyev cancelled at the last minute his participation in those talks that were due to focus on an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace accord.

Aliyev referred to several small enclaves inside Armenia which were controlled by Azerbaijan in Soviet times and occupied by the Armenian army in the early 1990s. For its part, the Azerbaijani side seized at the time a bigger Armenian enclave comprising the village of Artsvashen and surrounding farmland and pastures.

Pashinyan responded to Aliyev’s demands in an interview with Armenian Public Television aired late on Tuesday. He pointed to the Artsvashen enclave and said Azerbaijani forces also control large swathes of agricultural land that belonged to several other Armenian border villages.

Pashinyan said the future of these contested lands should be decided through a delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. He hinted that Yerevan is open to considering territorial swaps as part of that process.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry dismissed Pashinyan’s comments on Wednesday, claiming that Azerbaijan had never occupied any Armenian territory. It said Armenia is thus trying to “justify the occupation of eight Azerbaijani villages.”

The ministry also made clear that Baku continues to reject the idea of using a 1975 Soviet military map for the border delimitation, which is advanced by Yerevan.

Michel, Macron and Scholz effectively backed the idea in a joint statement with Pashinyan issued after their October 5 talks. The statement cited the “urgent need to work towards border delimitation based on the most recent USSR General Staff maps that have been provided to the sides.”

The European leaders also voiced strong support for the “inviolability of the borders of Armenia” and called for “strict adherence to the principle of non-use of force and threat of use of force.” They appeared to allude to the fears that Azerbaijan could attack Armenia after recapturing Karabakh as a result of last month’s military offensive.

A senior Armenian diplomat claimed over the weekend that Azerbaijani troops could try in the coming weeks to open an exterritorial land corridor to Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan exclave through Armenia’s southeastern Syunik province. He said the West should impose sanctions on Baku to prevent such an attack.

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan appeared to raise these concerns with a visiting U.S. regional envoy, Louis Bono, on Wednesday. Mirzoyan was cited by his press office as stressing the “need to deter encroachments on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Armenia.”

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‘Azerbaijan Planned and Organized’ Depopulation of Artsakh, Says French Foreign Minister


‘Azerbaijan Planned and Organized’ Depopulation of Artsakh, Says French Foreign Minister

Azerbaijan planned and organized the exodus of more than 100,000 Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, France’s Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said during a question and answer session in the French Senate on Wednesday.

“No matter how it tries to portray the situation, yes, Azerbaijan planned and organized the exodus of more than 100,000 Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh. This is a crime that cannot go unpunished,” the French foreign minister said.

Colonna said France will demand the adoption of a resolution within the framework of the UN Security Council that will create conditions for the return of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians.

She stressed the need to protect the historical and cultural rights of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh and insisted on permanent international presence in the region.

During a visit to Armenia last week, Colonna said Armenia needed to be able to defend itself two weeks after Azerbaijani forces invaded Nagorno-Karabakh despite the presence of Russian peacekeepers.

She said Paris has agreed to deliver military equipment to Armenia.

After visiting displaced Artsakh residents, including burn patients injured in a Stepanakert fuel depot station explosion, the minister pledged military support.

“I would like to publicly state that France has agreed on future contracts with Armenia which will allow the delivery of military equipment to Armenia so that it can ensure its defense. You’ll understand that I can’t go into more detail at the moment,” Colonna said.

Colonna’s pledge of military support to Armenia further angered Baku with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan complaining to European Council President Charles Michel last week about what he called the “anti-Azerbaijan” posturing by Paris and the EU.

Aliyev claimed that such a pledge from France will complicate peace efforts in the region.

Baku Steps Up Claims on 8 Armenian Villages ‘Occupied By Armenia’

YEREVAN (Azatutyun.am)—Azerbaijan continued to accuse Armenia on Wednesday of occupying “eight Azerbaijani villages” amid growing fears in Yerevan that it could launch another military offensive after regaining control over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev demanded the “de-occupation” of those villages in a weekend phone call with European Council President Charles Michel. It followed Michel’s joint meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held in Spain. Aliyev cancelled at the last minute his participation in those talks that were due to focus on an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace accord.

Aliyev referred to several small enclaves inside Armenia which were controlled by Azerbaijan in Soviet times and occupied by the Armenian army in the early 1990s. For its part, the Azerbaijani side seized at the time a bigger Armenian enclave comprising the village of Artsvashen and surrounding farmland and pastures.

Pashinyan responded to Aliyev’s demands in an interview with Armenian Public Television aired late on Tuesday. He pointed to the Artsvashen enclave and said Azerbaijani forces also control large swathes of agricultural land that belonged to several other Armenian border villages.

Pashinyan said the future of these contested lands should be decided through a delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. He hinted that Yerevan is open to considering territorial swaps as part of that process.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry dismissed Pashinyan’s comments on Wednesday, claiming that Azerbaijan had never occupied any Armenian territory. It said Armenia is thus trying to “justify the occupation of eight Azerbaijani villages.”

The ministry also made clear that Baku continues to reject the idea of using a 1975 Soviet military map for the border delimitation, which is advanced by Yerevan.

Michel, Macron and Scholz effectively backed the idea in a joint statement with Pashinyan issued after their October 5 talks. The statement cited the “urgent need to work towards border delimitation based on the most recent USSR General Staff maps that have been provided to the sides.”

The European leaders also voiced strong support for the “inviolability of the borders of Armenia” and called for “strict adherence to the principle of non-use of force and threat of use of force.” They appeared to allude to the fears that Azerbaijan could attack Armenia after recapturing Karabakh as a result of last month’s military offensive.

A senior Armenian diplomat claimed over the weekend that Azerbaijani troops could try in the coming weeks to open an exterritorial land corridor to Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan exclave through Armenia’s southeastern Syunik province. He said the West should impose sanctions on Baku to prevent such an attack.

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan appeared to raise these concerns with a visiting U.S. regional envoy, Louis Bono, on Wednesday. Mirzoyan was cited by his press office as stressing the “need to deter encroachments on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Armenia.”

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Graphic: Survivor of festival attack saved by uncle


Warning: The following depicts scenes of graphic violence and death.

(NewsNation) — An American woman who survived an attack on an Israeli music festival says she wouldn’t be alive had it not been for the heroism of her uncle who put himself between his family and a grenade.

Lee Sasi was huddled inside a bomb shelter near the festival grounds where the attack occurred. Gunmen approached and began firing inside, and then, one of them tossed a grenade into the shelter. Sasi says her uncle acted to save his family.

“He protected me from the grenade, and I truly think that God made him get hit so that we — me, my cousin and her husband — (could) survive,” Sasi said in an interview aired Wednesday on “CUOMO.” “He’s a legend. He helped everybody. He had the biggest heart. He was scared to death and … even though he was scared to death, he protected me. He wasn’t being selfish. He didn’t put himself first. He put me first because I was next to him.”

Sasi is among those who survived Saturday’s attack on the Supernova festival, carried out by Hamas militants who stormed Israel. At least 260 bodies were recovered from the festival grounds, and many more are feared captured, including Sasi’s cousin, who is three months pregnant.

“They kidnapped so many people,” Sasi said. “They kidnapped my cousin. We don’t know where our cousin is.”

In total, more than 1,200 Israelis have died from the large-scale assault on Israel that saw thousands of rockets fired from Gaza, the Palestinian territory controlled and governed by Hamas. Gunmen tore through kibbutzim and villages close to the border with Gaza, massacring civilians.

“They killed so many people. There were hundreds and hundreds of bodies,” Sasi said of the carnage at the music festival. “Slaughtered to death, shot to death, burned to death.”

As she hid under dead bodies in the bomb shelter, Sasi says saw her life flash before her eyes.

“I started seeing my life when I was a kid. I started seeing when I grew up, when I had my bat mitzvah,” she said. “Just how I grew up, and how I never thought that this would happen to me.”

Israel is now launching retaliatory strikes on Gaza, leveling large swaths of neighborhoods.

“I have removed every restriction — we will eliminate anyone who fights us, and use every measure at our disposal,” Defense Minister Gallant told soldiers near the southern border Tuesday.

In Gaza, authorities say 1,100 people have been killed.

Sasi is dismayed by the continued violence in the region, which has been ongoing since the late 1940s.

“The reason why Jews are are defending themselves is because they don’t stop killing us. They don’t care. They want to kill Jews,” she said. “I’ve been scared a little bit to talk about what’s going on in Israel because I’ve gotten death threats my entire life, and then this happened to me; now, I don’t care. I don’t care if people send me death threats. I almost died, and I don’t care now. I’m not scared of anything.”

It’s been difficult to fully process what she endured, and she says her road to recovery will be long.

“I need a lot of work done,” Sasi said. “I don’t know how long it’s gonna take. I don’t know when it’s gonna take, but I need help.”

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Sisters’ text exchange chronicles Hamas attack in real-time


(NewsNation) — The terror is still very real for so many but especially for two Israeli sisters after Hamas militants attacked a kibbutz where one sister was visiting family over the weekend.

The attack took place at Nir Oz kibbutz. Omer Metzger was visiting family at the kibbutz when the attack occurred, and she found herself hiding with other family members as the situation unfolded.

Throughout the ordeal, she sent text messages to her sister, Ofir, who was miles away and at first didn’t recognize the danger her sister was in.

The sisters joined NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” to relive their ordeal.

As the terrorists approached, the sisters continued to exchange messages, capturing the terrifying moments in real-time.

Metzger texted that Hamas militants had entered the home she was in.

“There’s someone inside the house, someone broke in the kitchen,” she wrote. “I love you more than anything in the world and everyone too.”

Ofir responded with a helpless, “Shut up.”

Omer answered, ‘I’m hiding now,” adding, “We’re under the bed.”

Ofir asked, “Why?”

Omer answered, “We heard noises almost inside the house, actual talking. So we’re under the bed.”

Omer said they hid under a bed for hours before emerging.

“We were hiding at least, I think, about five hours maybe,” she said. “And we were in the safe place for 10 hours until the military came and saved us.”

Omer said they went inside the safe room because there were alerts for rockets.

“I was terrified,’ Ofir said. “Like she started to say to me things that, like, slowly. I understood it’s getting so real.”

Amid the chaos, Omer said they heard gunshots and glass shattering, realizing the militants were dangerously close to their location.

“Right next to the window. Right outside,” she said. “Like we’ve heard them walking outside. And at some point, we’ve heard glass shattering, so I knew they were in the kitchen. And also, all the time we’ve heard like gunshots, like automatic gunshots, and you cannot like not recognize it.”

Ofir said Israelis are often “kind of used to it.”

“We hear alarms, we know that there are rockets, and that’s it,” she said. But this time was different.

Tragically, as a result of the attack, Omar’s grandparents went missing, adding to the family’s distress. As the search for their grandparents continues, the family hopes to reunite with them soon.

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Options to evacuate Israel ‘not feasible’ for some: John Kirby


(NewsNation) —As the number of Americans who have died in the Israel-Hamas war is rising, the State Department is exploring options to evacuate U.S. citizens who want to leave.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby joined “The Hill on NewsNation” to discuss efforts to safely get Americans out of the war zone.

Kirby said commercial flights from Ben Gurion Airport are still operational, and there are some viable ground routes for Americans who want to leave.

“We are mindful, though, that there could be some who using the commercial options, or the ground route options, are either not feasible or affordable,” he said. “And so we are actively exploring other options.”

The number of Americans who have died in the Israel-Hamas war is now at 22, the State Department said Wednesday, an increase from the 14 reported Tuesday.

President Joe Biden this week confirmed U.S. citizens are among the estimated 150 hostages captured by Hamas after the Palestinian militant group’s attack.

There are currently 17 U.S. citizens unaccounted for, Kirby said at a White House press briefing.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., recently voiced his concerns on social media, stating that Americans are stranded in a war zone for the second time in two years.

Fiji, Hungary and South Korea have already used airlines to evacuate citizens. Canada and Germany have announced evacuation flights in the coming days.

It would seem that the United States is behind several countries in evacuation efforts.

“I would just say stay tuned,” Kirby said. “I think we’ll have more to say very soon about what some of those options are going to look like.”

Major airlines have suspended flights in and out of Israel after the nation declared war following the attack by Hamas.

Kirby said the U.S. is engaged with airlines to facilitate the safe return of Americans. While domestic U.S. carriers have opted not to fly to Ben Gurion Airport at this time, international carriers are still operational in the region, and discussions are ongoing.

While Kirby couldn’t provide a specific timeline for the evacuation efforts, he emphasized the urgency of addressing the situation.

“There are many Americans who live and work in Israel,” Kirby said. “For many of them, it’s home, and they don’t want to leave.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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‘Mixed reality’ could better train responders to treat overdoses


(NewsNation) — A new project at an Illinois health care system hopes to help give medical professionals and ordinary citizens realistic crisis training to respond to drug overdoses by utilizing what’s called “mixed reality” technology.

The new project — currently being developed by staff at OSF Healthcare and researchers at several Illinois universities — aims to help train responders how to administer life-saving medication in a chaotic emergency setting that may be difficult to replicate offline.

Unlike virtual reality, where users use headsets to immerse themselves in fully-created digital worlds, mixed reality combines digital imagery with the real world in front of a user’s eyes.

The researchers plan to develop a virtual program that can be deployed through headsets to train Americans how to respond to someone who is overdosing by administering naloxone (which is often sold as the nasal spray Narcan).

Right now, training for these sorts of medical interventions is often done with objects like mannequins. The mixed reality technology will let users bypass the expense that might be involved in that.

“You don’t have to ship a mannequin,” said assistant professor in Creative Technologies at Illinois State University Roy Magnuson, who is involved with the project. “You don’t have to buy one — [they] can be extremely expensive.”

The researchers plan on developing the technology for Apple’s upcoming Vision Pro headset. The grant funding they’ll be using to develop a prototype begins in January, and they hope to create some form of product by the spring to do trials.

Magnuson conceded that there may be drawbacks to using mixed reality training that they discover once people start using the technology, including the fact that users may not necessarily physically feel the experience.

“You have to go touch a mannequin really to get a sense of what this is,” he said.

Matt Kase, a graduate student at Illinois State University who is involved with the project, also pointed out that some users would be comfortable using this technology while others wouldn’t.

“If you’ve ever tried to give a virtual reality headset to your parents or someone older it can be intimidating to use the technology,” he said.

But OSF Design Lab Director Scott Barrows, who is working on the project, said that they plan to work closely with the public to design the technology in a way that makes it accessible.

“We’ll be going into the communities, seeing how they relate to this, do they take to it, how can we design that experience better to kind of bridge that gap from this awesome technology to someone who doesn’t know how to use a mobile phone very well or maybe doesn’t even have access.”

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Texas has sent 50,000 migrants to sanctuary cities over last year


(NewsNation) — Texas has bused over 50,000 migrants coming into the state to different cities around the United States over the past year, Gov. Greg Abbott announced in a press release.

As part of a multiagency border effort called “Operation Lone Star,” Abbott started sending busloads of migrants to sanctuary cities in April 2022. Sanctuary cities have policies that discourage law enforcement from reporting an individual’s immigration status unless it involves an investigation of a serious crime, the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service says.


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More than 12,500 migrants have been taken to Washington, D.C., from Texas since April 2022; 18,500 were bused to New York City since August 2022; 13,500 went to Chicago since August 2022; 3,200 went to Philadelphia since November 2022; and 3,200 have been sent to Denver since May 18. Far fewer have been sent to Los Angeles: 940 since June 14.

Since Operation Lone Star began, Texas officials have apprehended over 473,900 migrants and arrested more than 34,800 people, the governor’s office said. Over 431 million lethal doses of fentanyl have been seized by Texas law enforcement, according to the press release.

“Operation Lone Star continues to fill the dangerous gaps created by the Biden Administration’s refusal to secure the border,” the news release said.

White House officials and others have criticized the busing of migrants as an inhumane “political stunt” that exploited migrants, while cities Texas is sending migrants to say they don’t have the resources to handle the influx of people coming to their area.

Other places are sending migrants to cities along with Texas. Axios reported Chicago has become a top destination for migrants coming out of Denver.

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