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Russian peacekeepers escort another refugee group to Stepanakert

Twenty-seven buses were escorted by Russian peacekeepers and military police officers

MOSCOW, November 19. /TASS/. Another group of refugees has returned to the Nagorno-Karabakh capital of Stepanakert escorted by Russian peacekeepers, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

"Another 1,235 refugees returned to Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia on November 19. Twenty-seven buses were escorted by Russian peacekeepers and military police officers," the statement reads.

According to the ministry, efforts to ensure the safety of refugees on their way back home were overseen by the Inter-Agency Humanitarian Response Center.

About 4,000 civilians have returned to Stepanakert since November 14. The Inter-Agency Humanitarian Response Center was established in the city in accordance with instructions from Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu based on President Vladimir Putin’s decree on additional measures aimed at maintaining peace in Nagorno-Karabakh.

A unit led by Major General Andrei Volkov was formed in Stepanekert on November 14 as part of the Russian peacekeeping mission in order to ensure the safe return of refugees.

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