All schools in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) have closed due to heating issues. This is stated in Friday’s daily bulletin of the Artsakh Information Center.

The Artsakh’s Ministry of Education, Science, Nature, and Sport has announced that educational institutions in Artsakh will suspend operations starting Thursday due to the natural gas and electricity supply disruptions.

Preschools, public schools with grades 1-12, and primary and secondary specialized institutions will temporarily suspend their operations.

As a result, 117 schools are closed, and 20,000 students are being deprived of their right to education.

Two more medical patients were transported to Armenia by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Transportation of patients from Artsakh to Armenia continues to be carried out exclusively with the mediation and escort of the ICRC.

As of January 19, a total of 36 patients were transported from Artsakh to Armenia by the ICRC.

Frequent power fluctuations have caused fire.

Nine children remain in the neonatal and intensive care units of the children's hospital.

Nine adult patients remain in the intensive care unit, and four of them are in critical condition.

A total of 154 children have been born during the current Azerbaijani blockade of Artsakh.

A total of 460 persons continue to be deprived of the opportunity to receive necessary medical treatment due to suspensions of planned surgeries in all medical facilities of Artsakh.

A total of 726 businesses (17.7% of the total) in Artsakh have suspended operations.

At least 4,100 people in Artsakh have lost their jobs and sources of income due to the blockade’s impact on the economy.

More than 15,600 tons of vital supplies, which would have been delivered during the period of the blockade, have not reached Artsakh. Only a meager amount has since been delivered by the ICRC and the Russian peacekeeping forces.

Key facts

For 40 days, 120,000 people of Artsakh have been held hostage by terroristic blockade carried out by agents of the Azerbaijani government.

Due to the blockade, 120,000 people of Artsakh, including 30,000 children, 20,000 elderly people and 9,000 persons with disabilities, face a dire humanitarian crisis and the risk of starvation.

As of January 9, 41 kindergartens, 56 preschool groups, and 20 long-day educational institutions have been completely or partially closed due to the growing food shortage caused by the blockade. A total of 6,828 children are no longer able to attend kindergartens, preschools and long-day schools, being deprived of the opportunity to receive appropriate care, food, and education.

As of Wednesday, all 117 schools in Artsakh have been closed due to lack of heating and electricity, depriving almost 20,000 children of their right to education.

Since the beginning of the blockade, many countries and international organizations have condemned Azerbaijan's actions and called for the lifting of the blockade. This issue was also discussed in the UN Security Council while the European Court of Human Rights ordered Azerbaijan to take all necessary and sufficient measures to lift the blockade. The issue will soon be considered in the UN International Court of Justice (The Hague) as part of the proceedings of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.