The only road that links Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia has been blocked since 12 December – by workers from Azerbaijani state organisations.
The protesters have said they are objecting to Russian peacekeepers stationed in the disputed territory, who they claim are covering up illegal mining on land that formally belongs to Azerbaijan.
They have set up tents and refused to leave the road – known as the Lachin corridor – for the past four days. They included civil servants, workers from nearby construction sites and representatives of pro-government NGOs, but also former soldiers – one of whom was photographed making a well-known gesture of the Gray Wolves, a notorious Turkish far-right group.
