At Least 20 Dead in Gas Station Explosion as Nagorno-Karabakh Residents Flee to Armenia

At Least 20 Dead in Gas Station Explosion as Nagorno-Karabakh Residents Flee to Armenia
Smoke rising after a fuel depot explosion near Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh in this grab taken from video on Sept. 25, 2023. Siranush Sargsyan's Twitter account via AP
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YEREVAN, Armenia—At least 20 people were killed and nearly 300 others injured by an explosion at a crowded gas station in Nagorno-Karabakh as thousands of people rushed to flee into Armenia, separatist authorities in the region said Tuesday.

More than 13,500 people—about 12 percent of the region’s population—have fled across the border since Azerbaijan defeated separatists who have governed the breakaway region for about 30 years in a swift military operation, Armenia’s government said Tuesday morning.