08-17-2023 JULIE STAHL

Tens of thousands of Armenian Christians are languishing in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Artsakh, due to a military blockade that is cutting them off from the outside world.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a mostly Armenian enclave surrounded by the Muslim country of Azerbaijan. Since December 2022, Azerbaijan has blocked the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting these Armenian Christians to the outside world.

According to the Philos Project, food and medicine have run out, miscarriages among pregnant women have tripled, and Azeri forces are kidnapping hospital patients during emergency medical evacuations.

Although Armenia may seem like a distant place, the Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew first took the Gospel to that nation, and Armenia became the first nation to formally embrace Christianity in 301 A.D. But its biblical connections go back even further. Mt. Ararat, where it’s believed Noah’s ark landed, is at the center of Armenian life.

CBN News spoke with Ambassador Sam Brownback from the Center for Religious Liberty, about the situation and what the U.S. and Christians should be doing. Brownback, the former Governor of Kansas and former Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom confirmed that the situation is dire, and the U.S. needs to take action fast. Christians, he said, need to pray!