Azerbaijan says civilians can safely leave Karabakh

Azerbaijan will ensure that civilians can travel safely in their own vehicles along the road which leads from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, Hikmet Hajiyev, foreign policy adviser to Azerbaijan's president, said on Friday.

Many Karabakh residents are seeking to leave after Azerbaijan mounted a lightning offensive this week and declared it had retaken control of the breakaway territory after 35 years of conflict.