Today’s episode of Black Diplomats is a primer on the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed region in the mountains between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Host Terrell J. Starr talks to Lika Zakaryan, a journalist who has spent her life in Nagorno-Karabakh, known as Artsakh to the locals. Over 90% of the population of Artsakh is ethnically Armenian, but due to political wrangling in the Soviet era it is considered a territory of Azerbaijan.

Zakaryan could hear bombs going off in the background during our interview, and was interrupted near the end with news of a ceasefire planned for the next morning. With family and friends on the front lines, Zakaryan has chosen to tell human stories rather than political ones. Her powerful testimonials remind us all of the cost of violence, and the indifference of the people in power.

Lika Zakaryan is a journalist with CIVILNET who is reporting directly from Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh where she was born and raised, and currently lives. Go to her Twitter feed to access her reporting from the ground. 

Thank you for listening!