Armenians settled in the Lachin district of Azerbaijan, which has been controlled by Armenian separatists for decades, began a mass exodus after it was announced that Azerbaijan would regain control, BBC's Russian service reported.

BBC also stated that Russian peacekeepers were deployed in the area after the Nagorno-Karabakh peace deal was signed on November 10.

A total of 1,960 Russian peacekeepers are to be deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh under a five-year mandate.

Following over a month of military action to liberate its territories from Armenian occupation, Azerbaijan has pushed Armenia to sign the surrender document. A joint statement on the matter was made by Azerbaijani president, Armenia's PM and the president of Russia.

A complete ceasefire and a cessation of all hostilities in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is introduced at 00:00 hours (Moscow time) on 10 November 2020.

According to the agreement, on 1 December, Armenia will hand over the Lachin District, over which the Lachin pass connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia passes.

The agreement stipulates that a 5-kilometre wide corridor through Lachin will remain connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia which will be controlled by Russian peacekeepers.

Armenian Armed Forces launched a large-scale military attack on positions of Azerbaijani army on the front line, using large-caliber weapons, mortars and artillery on Sept. 27. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-offensive along the entire front.

Back in July 2020, Armenian Armed Forces violated the ceasefire in the direction of Azerbaijan's Tovuz district. As a result of Azerbaijan's retaliation, the opposing forces were silenced. The fighting continued the following days as well. Azerbaijan lost a number of military personnel members, who died fighting off the attacks of the Armenian Armed Forces.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian Armed Forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.

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