Hundreds of people gathered in the rain in Los Angeles Friday afternoon to protest attacks by Azerbaijan on the long-disputed Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.
A sustained attack along the borders of the South Caucasus region that began April 1 has been blamed on Azerbaijan, and dozens have died.
Control over the region has long been contentious, and was claimed by both Armenia and Azerbaijan when they became independent in 1918. The region remained tumultuous after the fall of the Soviet Union, and a 1991-1994 war led to tens of thousands of casualties.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has attempted to intervene, meeting with the Azeri President Ilham Aliyev Friday, according to Reuters.
The region is critical to Russia because of its proximity to the Caspian Sea, through which oil and gas is exported to global markets, Reuters reported.
Just after 2 p.m., protesters outside of the Azerbaijan Consulate on Wilshire Boulevard began spilling out into the streets and became “aggressive,” according to LAPD, but no street closures were ordered.
