The Armenian government has revealed that about 70 percent of ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh have fled the region after Azerbaijan carried out a military operation there.

It said on Friday that 88,780 out of an estimated 120,000 ethnic Armenian residents have arrived in Armenia. The evacuees fled their homes fearing oppression by the government of Azerbaijan.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reportedly said the previous day that there would be no Armenians left in Nagorno-Karabakh in the coming days.

Ethnic Armenians established a self-proclaimed republic in the region long disputed by Azerbaijan and Armenia.

But the Azerbaijani military launched an offensive on September 19 and forced them to agree to disarm. Procedures have begun to disband the self-proclaimed republic by New Year's Day in 2024.

Azerbaijan's government is believed to be taking steps to integrate Nagorno-Karabakh.

Meanwhile, a fuel depot near the region's main city of Stepanakert exploded on Monday, as many ethnic Armenian residents were fleeing in vehicles.

Local authorities said on Friday that the death toll from the explosion has risen to 170. They had previously said the blast killed at least 68 people and left 105 missing.