Brooklyn (AFP) – According to the foreign ministry on Friday, Azerbaijan has asked a UN delegation to visit Nagorno-Karabakh “in the coming days” as a result of a sudden military offensive by that country that has caused a major evacuation of ethnic Armenians from the area.

This weekend, a U.N. mission led by a top assistance official will visit Nagorno-Karabakh, marking the international organization’s first entry to the area in about 30 years, according to UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Dujarric told reporters on Friday that while there, the delegation would “seek to assess the situation on the ground and identify the humanitarian needs for both people who are remaining and the people who are on the move.”