Azerbaijan takes over Armenian enclave

Azerbaijan troops disarmed separatists in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region and seized control of the Armenian enclave in a lightning military operation on Thursday.

Armenian separatists from the disputed mountain territory agreed to lay down their arms after losing 200 people from clashes and joined peace talks with Azerbaijan in the city of Yevlakh on Thursday.

Russian peacekeepers are mediating the talks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday urged Azerbaijan leader Ilham Aliyev during a telephone call to ensure the security of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.
It was the first time in decades that Baku had regained control over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia warned the United Nations Thursday that Azerbaijan was carrying out "ethnic cleansing" and committing a "crime against humanity" in the region.

Speaking before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Armenian ambassador Andranik Hovhannisyan recalled that his country had previously warned of "looming ethnic cleansing" in Nagorno-Karabakh, stressing "now it is in progress."