UN mission arrives in Karabakh, first visit in 30 years: Baku

A United Nations mission has arrived in Karabakh, the first in three decades, Baku said following Azerbaijan's recapture of the breakaway enclave.

An Azerbaijani presidency spokesperson told AFP that a "UN mission arrived in Karabakh on Sunday morning" - mainly to assess humanitarian needs, the first time in around 30 years that the international body has gained access to the region.

In the meantime, Azerbaijan denied accusations of ethnic cleansing to clear the enclave of Karabakh of its ethnic Armenian population saying its inhabitants were free to stay or go.

"We cannot accept accusations of ethnic cleansing or genocide," Hikmet Hajiyev, diplomatic advisor to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, told AFP in an interview Saturday.

"Ethnic cleansing is a forceful action, when somebody is using force against civilians - (which is) what exactly Armenia used against us, 30 years ago."

'No single case of violence'

"But it doesn't mean we will repeat the same. There was no single case of violence or atrocity against civilians. They attest this themselves," Hajiyev claimed.

"And there were no 'Armenian' civilians in Karabakh," he added.

"We always considered them as Azerbaijan civilians but unfortunately an illegal separatist entity didn't allow us to have direct communication with them," he said, of the ethnic Armenian separatists who governed the enclave for three decades.

He said Azerbaijan had "engaged internal security troops to coordinate with the so-called local Armenian authorities".

"They are still in control of the cities," he said.