At least three Armenian residents of Lachin, an Azerbaijani town, located on the road linking Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians with Armenia, indicated they are not going to leave, BBC Russian and RFE/RL Armenian services reported.

Nagorno-Karabakh is officially part of Azerbaijan, but run by ethnic Armenians since 1990s, as they seized control of it along the seven Azerbaijani districts adjacent to it, including Lachin, as a result of a bloody conflict. At that time, hostilities had ended with a ceasefire in 1994, two years later, after Lachin was occupied by the Armenians on May 18,1992.

The town, which is a centre of the administrative district with the same name, was burnt down by Armenians, as its nearly 10.000 population fled, becoming refugees. Later, they partially re-built it, settling with Armenians brought in from abroad, Syria and Lebanon, as well as Armenia.

Lachin is to be handed back to Azerbaijan, a winner of the second war which started on September 27 and ended with Russian brokered ceasefire, which this time saw Armenians routed. Azerbaijan captured back four of the seven districts, including Shusha, a strategically important city of Nagorno-Karabakh.

According to the ceasefire, defeated Armenians must withdraw from Lachin by December 1. However, in their interview with BBC and RFE/RL, some of them indicated they wished to stay as they feel secure with the Russian troops which moved in as peacekeepers to secure the corridor which goes through the town.

It is within the 5 km wide corridor to be guarded by the Russian troops agreed by the ceasefire, to which Russia is a part as a mediator between Armenia and Azerbaijan. While some Armenians left the town, some of them said they are going to stay, expecting electricity and gas supply to be restored.

The ceasefire statement said refugees should return to their homes under the watch and support of the UNHCR. But it is not clear yet if Azeri refugees will be able to claim their places back in the town of Lachin which they were forced to leave since 1992, now under Russian control and possibly with some Armenians present. It might be known after December 1, if Azerbaijani civil or police administration established in the town, if not its Armed forces. The latter already entered in Agdam on November 20, and expected move in Kalbajar on November 25, as agreed by the ceasefire declaration of November 10.