Over 100,000 Armenian refugees have fled their homeland of Nagorno-Karabakh, creating a huge humanitarian crisis. Conflict has forced a mass exodus of the Armenian people from the region, leaving many without basic necessities.

The UN refugee agency called for urgent international help, sharing that “many are hungry, exhausted, and need immediate assistance”. Of those fleeing, elderly people, women, and children are most vulnerable.

Our DC-8 aircraft departed for Armenia in the early hours of 7 October and delivered aid over the weekend. The airlift supplied almost 30 tonnes of relief–including food, blankets, and solar lights–to assist suffering families.

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As conflict in the region escalated, an explosion at a fuel depot killed 170 and left hundreds of people with severe burns.

Right now, there is an urgent need for medical support and burn specialists to treat those affected. Alongside this, refugees are in desperate need of winter clothing and other supplies including hygiene kits.

A Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) is on the ground in Armenia, and we are working with local church partners to support vulnerable refugees, providing physical and spiritual aid in the midst of this crisis. We will be providing hot meals to displaced families as well as basic items such as personal hygiene kits, nappies, cleaning supplies, bed linens, and blankets.

Alongside distributing supplies and Bibles, we have deployed two burn speciality teams to provide surgical care for burn patients.

“Conflict in the region has once again caused suffering, heartbreak, and chaos for thousands of people,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse. “As Samaritan’s Purse deploys life-saving aid and surgical care to this part of the world, please pray for God’s protection over the families seeking refuge and for our teams as they serve in Jesus’ Name.”

The historically Christian Armenians were a minority in the region and lived in the Nagorno-Karabakh area. Conflicts have troubled the area for decades, and Samaritan’s Purse was in Armenia in 2020 to provide relief and share the Hope of Christ during the crisis then. Now, with our support, the church in Armenia is mobilising once again to help those fleeing this recent escalation of violence.

Your gift can help many facing crisis in Armenia, and across Eurasia. Those fleeing the conflict are in urgent need of basic supplies, and even more need of their “Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Cor 1:3, ESV).

Will you prayerfully consider a gift to support Armenian refugees and others facing crisis in the region?