A United Nations mission arrived in Nagorno-Karabakh on Sunday for the first time in 30 years, Azerbaijan announced, as most of the local Armenian population left the enclave after its return to Baku, AFP reported.

Ethnic Armenians are fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh due to fear of AzerbaijanisPhoto: Alain JOCAR / AFP / Profimedia

A spokesman for the presidency of Azerbaijan said that the UN mission arrived on Sunday morning with the main task of assessing the humanitarian needs on the ground.

Earlier, the UN announced that it had received the green light to send a mission to Nagorno-Karabakh this weekend.

Armenian separatists, who have controlled Nagorno-Karabakh for three decades, capitulated and agreed to lay down their arms last week after a lightning offensive by Azerbaijan to retake the territory.

The military offensive resulted in nearly 600 deaths, including about 200 soldiers from each side.

Since then, the separatist enclave has been almost completely abandoned by its inhabitants. More than 100,000 people have fled to Armenia, fearing reprisals from Azerbaijan, raising concerns of a serious humanitarian crisis. (Agerpress)