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Only a few hundred ethnic Armenians, mostly the sick and the elderly, are left in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said, describing “deserted" and "surreal” streets after nearly 80 per cent of the population fled in a few days. Teams of ICRC staffers roamed Karabakh’s main city with megaphones looking for those who remained in the enclave, which has operated for three decades as a de facto Armenian state despite being internationally recognised as being part of Azerbaijan. Last month Baku launched a lightning military operation to take control of the separatist region. More than 100,000 ethnic Armenians have fled to neighbouring Armenia over the last week, fearing reprisals. The most vulnerable are among those who had stayed behind, ICRC team lead Marco Succi said from the Karabakh capital known as Stepanakert by Armenia and Khankendi by Azerbaijan. "The hospitals....are not functioning; the medical personnel left; the water board authorities left; the director of the morgue also left. So this scenario, the scene is quite surreal,” he said. He described finding one bed-ridden cancer patient who had just undergone a colostomy, was on her own and had run out of medication. She was showing signs of malnutrition, despite being left provisions. “Neighbours had left her with food and water several days beforehand, but her supplies were running low. She had finished all her medication and could not take care of herself,” he said. “The neighbours could not take her with them, and while she waited for help, she had started to lose all hope.” Video footage from the main city showed empty streets littered with abandoned prams, suitcases, and children’s toys. In the border regions of Armenia, families who fled told The Independent they fled with whatever they could carry with them. “I just have the clothes I’m standing in,” said Gregory Ayvazyan, 58, a PE teacher who was picking through a pile of donated clothes in Goris. The Armenian authorities, who are struggling to house and support the tens of thousands who are now homeless and jobless, have accused Azerbaijan of instigating "a direct act of ethnic cleansing and depriving people of their motherland." Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry strongly rejected the accusations, arguing their departure was "their personal and individual decision and has nothing to do with forced relocation." On Tuesday, Armenia's parliament voted to join the International Criminal Court (ICC) which could bring it one step closer to instigating war crimes investigations against Baku. But the move adds further strain to the country's ties with its old ally Russia, which brokered a peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan following a war in 2020 and has peacekeeping troops deployed in the region. Armenian officials have argued the move has nothing to do with Russia and was prompted by Azerbaijan's aggression towards the country. Earlier this year the ICC issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin over events in Ukraine and so Kremlin called Yerevan’s decision to join the court an "unfriendly step”. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had questions for its current leadership - which will now have to arrest Putin should he visit Armenia, due to an outstanding ICC warrant against him. The exodus of ethnic Armenians closes a centuries-old chapter of history and a thirty-year fight for independence by the majority-Armenian population, which ignited shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union when a bloody war erupted between Azerbaijan and separatist Armenian fighters, resulting in an Armenian win and the displacement of Azerbaijani citizens. In 2020, Baku launched a military operation to take back the 4,400km enclave, a war in which thousands of people died. Russia brokered a fragile truce, but in December Azerbaijan cut one of the only supply roads and enforced a blockade on Nagorno-Karabakh, strangling food, fuel and water supplies. And then on 19 September, they launched a 24-hour military offensive which forced the outgunned separatists, weakened by the siege, to lay down their weapons and agree to dissolve. Amid reports that Karabakh Armenian officials had been arrested, and fearing reprisals, tens of thousands of Armenians fled to neighbouring Armenia. The United Nations sent its first delegation to Nagorno Karabakh in decades this week and said that only between 50 and 1,000 Armenians were left. In Armenia, Joe Lowry, spokesperson for the UN’s migration agency said “it’s kind of a hidden humanitarian emergency right now because 100,000 people are dispersed all around [Armenia]”. “They are going to face immense strain from, firstly, the goodwill of people that are sheltering them and, secondly, on the national services that are there - healthcare, education, jobs, accommodation.” In Nagorno Karabakh, the ICRC’s Mr Succi said they were trying to bring in essential food to the area and medical supplies to local hospitals which were now unstaffed. He described helping evacuate an 85-year-old lady and her two daughters who cleaned up their house and arranged clothes and food in the fridge as they left. “Despite speaking through tears as she left, she told us: ‘I hope any people coming to live in my house stay well, and never experience war.’ These moments reveal the trials and tribulations of people left behind in the rush,” Mr Succo said. Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Armenia's parliament votes to join the International Criminal Court, straining ties with ally Russia Last bus of fleeing Armenians leaves Nagorno-Karabakh: ‘It’s a ghost town’ Armenians describe escape after fall of Nagorno-Karabakh

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For people with a stammer, it can be hard to deal with, but it’s made worse by the fact that understanding of the condition amongst the general public is low. The speech problem usually starts in childhood, between the ages of around two and five years old, affecting around 8% of children and 2% of adults – that’s more than 1.3 million people in the UK. International Stammering Awareness Day (October 22) aims to destigmatise stammering and promote understanding and support for people who do have it, including advice for parents about how they can help affected children. “There’s a lot of stigma around stammering in society – even from an early age, children may be teased or bullied, and adults may tell them to speak properly,” says Catherine Woolley, children and families programme lead at STAMMA (the British Stammering Association). “Children who stammer sometimes feel embarrassed or worried about their speech and try to hide it. They might start to speak less or change words they want to say to ones which are easier to produce. “How you respond to your child can affect how they feel about their talking. It’s common for parents to worry about stammering, and if this is you, you can seek support to help you feel comfortable around your child’s stammering.” Woolley points out that, contrary to popular belief, stammering isn’t caused by anxiety or stress, and there’s no evidence that people who stammer are less intelligent than fluent speakers. “Research suggests stammering is neurological, which means there are subtle differences in the way the brains of people who stammer work,” she explains. “This means it belongs to the same group of neurodiverse conditions as ADHD, autism and dyslexia.” The condition is often hereditary, with about 60% of people who stammer having another family member who stammers, and while there’s no specific cure, Woolley says there are many different techniques and approaches that can increase people’s fluency in certain situations, although they may not work for everyone. “There isn’t one treatment which can miraculously make all people stop stammering,” she stresses. “Everyone’s stammer is unique, as is the way they want to manage their speech.” But there’s no doubt, she says, that parents can help their children deal with stammering, and make them feel more comfortable. 1. Value your child’s stammered voice “It’s simply the way they talk,” says Woolley. “What’s important is what they say and not the way they say it.” 2. Be patient Although it can obviously take more time for a child who stammers to say something, it’s important for parents and the rest of the family not to rush them. “Give them time to say what they want, and model this to their siblings and other family members,” she adds. 3. Don’t finish their words or sentences Woolley says that while it can be tempting to finish your child’s words or sentences for them, especially if you can see them struggling, it’s important to resist this urge to help. “It can be disempowering and embarrassing if you speak over them,” explains Woolley, “not to mention frustrating if your guess is wrong and they have to start all over again.” 4, Slow down yourself Rather than telling your child to speed up, slow down your own speech to reduce any time pressure they may feel. 5. Don’t show your own anxietyEven if you feel anxious when your child is stammering, try not to show it, advises Woolley, who suggests maintaining natural eye contact and remaining calm. “It can be uncomfortable listening to someone who stammers, but think how they feel. Try and maintain eye contact even if you feel awkward, as looking away can make them feel awkward too, or think you’ve lost interest in what they’re saying. Keep looking at them and give the occasional encouraging head nod to show you’re interested.” 6. Try not to be negative Woolley says it can be important to describe stammering using neutral language instead of negative references. So, for example, say, ‘He’s stammered more this week’, rather than, ‘His speech has been bad’. 7. Seek help Parents who are worried about their child’s talking or would like some help should contact their local NHS speech and language therapy department to talk through their concerns. In addition, STAMMA offers free Parent2Parent peer support groups run by parents of children who stammer, and workshops for such parents, plus a helpline (0808 802 0002) and a webchat service. Read More From colourful gowns to drones, these wedding trends are set take over 2024 Call The Midwife ‘should come with a health warning’ Halloween: 10 wicked ways to kit out your haunted house Black magic: Go back to black this season with the catwalk-inspired trend How to prep your home for when the clocks go back Menopause campaigner Mariella Frostrup: ‘I look forward to a future where women gradually stop feeling so ashamed’

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