The gas supplies from Armenia were cut off on Monday night after a section of the pipeline passing through Azerbaijani-controlled territory was knocked out by an apparent explosion.
The accident left Karabakh’s households, schools and other entities without heating. It also forced local bakeries and other vital businesses reliant on gas to suspend their work.
The authorities in Stepanakert said that for the second consecutive day the Azerbaijani side did not allow Karabakh sappers and utility workers to access the presumed site of the accident, ascertain its causes and finds ways of restoring the gas supplies.
Karabakh’s human rights ombudsman, Gegham Stepanian, said it therefore remains unclear what caused the disruption. The pipeline may well have been blown up by Azerbaijani forces, he said, adding that some Stepanakert residents heard on Monday the sound of a powerful explosion coming from the area around the Azerbaijani-controlled town of Shushi (Shusha).
Karabakh’s National Security Service likewise said that it is looking into the possibility of an Azerbaijani sabotage attack.
Azerbaijani officials made no statements on the accident as of Wednesday afternoon. Russian peacekeeping forces stationed in Karabakh reportedly discussed with them ways of restoring the gas supplies.
The disruption followed an increase in truce violations along the Armenian-Azerbaijani “line of contact” in and around Karabakh. Stepanian claimed that it could be part of Baku’s broader efforts to intimidate the Karabakh Armenians and cause them to leave the territory.