Azerbaijan accuses Red Cross of smuggling, shuts road to Karabakh

Azerbaijan has temporarily shut the only road linking its breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region with Armenia, accusing the Armenian branch of the Red Cross of smuggling.

The Armenian-populated region has been at the centre of a decades-long territorial dispute between the Caucasus arch-foes, which have fought several wars over the mountainous territory.

 “The passage through Lachin checkpoint of the state border is temporarily suspended” pending an investigation into the Red Cross using its medical vehicles for “smuggling”, Azerbaijan’s state border service said on Tuesday.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement that it “is aware of concerns raised about the transport of unauthorised goods across the Lachin Corridor and does not support any such activity”.