The fall of an enclave in Azerbaijan stuns the Armenian diaspora, extinguishing a dream

The swift fall of the Armenian-majority enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani troops and the exodus of much of its population has stunned the large Armenian diaspora around the world.

Traumatized by a widely acknowledged genocide a century ago, they fear the erasure of what they consider a central and beloved part of their historic homeland.

The separatist ethnic Armenian government in Nagorno-Karabakh on Thursday announced that it was dissolving and that the unrecognized republic will cease to exist by year's end ~ a seeming death knell for its 30year de facto independence.

Azerbaijan, which routed the region's Armenian forces in a lightning offensive last week, has pledged to respect the rights of the territory's Armenian community. Tens of thousands of people-more than 70% of the region's population had fled to Armenia by Friday morning, and the influx continues, according to Armenian officials.

Many in Armenia and the diaspora fear a centurieslong community in the territory they call Artsakh will disappear.