Ronak in Nagorno Karabakh

When should a journalist travel to a conflict zone? Is it worth taking advantage of the initial outburst or is it better to wait until the final fireworks? The ideal would be to cover the entire war, to be there before and after, yet it is often very difficult to establish clear cuts in time when it comes to armed conflict. One of them was drawn on September 27 in Nagorno Karabakh, a conflict that dates back to the middle of the Gorbachev era in 1988. It’s actually the longest-running unresolved dispute in the former Soviet Union.

Azerbaijan’s defence ministry released daily footage of Armenian forces being destroyed by high-precision air strikes. But on the ground one could also come across destroyed schools, shopping centres and stores, as well as Stepanakert’s central market. It was the worst violence seen in the Caucasian enclave in decades so Gilad Sade and Karlos Zurutuza travelled back to the area with the intention of covering what for them was another chapter in a story that they had been telling for a long time. Karlos’ first visit to this Caucasian enclave dates back to 2006 and Corina Tulbure -also a Ronak member- would show up in 2018. Three years earlier, Gilad had decided to settle in those rugged valleys. For him it wasn´t just about documenting life in those valleys: he wanted to be part of it.

We were back to cover the last Karabakh war. But it´s also true that, in a way, we had never left.

Links to the latest coverage:

“War and wine in Karabakh” (Newlines Magazine)

“Stuck in a war on Europe´s borders” (The Independent)

“Kamikaze drones wreak havoc in Nagorno Karabakh” (Middle East Eye)

“A town deserted” (Haaretz)

“Where the dust never settles” (Nationalia)

“Aguanta sentada hasta los créditos” (Jot Down)

“Mi ciudad, mi tumba” (5W)

“Cuando el pánico vació los sótanos” (Gara)

“Drones caseros contra kamikazes israelíes” (Gara)

“Los últimos días de Shushi” (Gara)

“De Beirut a Karabaj sin billete de vuelta” (Gara)

“Huir entre el fuego y el incienso” (Gara)

“Perder el control del guión” (7K)

“Armeniarren ardo saminena” (G8)

“El vi més amarg de Nagorno Karabakh” (Ara)

“Stepanakert evacua la població civil abans del desastre” (Ara)

“Al caire del abisme” (Ara)

“Es el segon cop a la meva vida que he de fugir” (Ara)

“Colonos en Karabaj: volver a empezar” (M´Sur)

“Rifles contra drones” (Público)

“¿Ese arroyo de ahí abajo sigue siendo nuestro?” (Gara)

“El conflicto de Nagorno Karabaj no tiene solución” (Gara)

Links prior to 2020:

“Life behind the conflict” GS

“The magic of winter” GS

“Jinghalovats” GS

“Europako gerraosterik gorriena” (Argia)

“Paradise lost” (Hidden Europe)

“Una anomalía cartográfica” (Gara)

“El país en el que todo cambió en 2018” (El Confidencial)

“Entre la esperanza y la incertidumbre” (Gara)

“El somni dúna nuova Arménia s´obre pas” (Ara)