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At least 20 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in a fuel depot explosion in Nagorno-Karabakh amid an exodus of ethnic Armenians from the region following a lightning military offensive by Azerbaijan, Aljazeera reported.

The region’s health department said 13 bodies were found and seven people had died of their wounds after the blast outside the regional capital of Stepanakert – called Khankendi by Azerbaijan – late on Monday.

It also said 290 people had been hospitalised and “dozens of patients remain in critical condition”. The warehouse was used to give out fuel to those who wanted to leave the region by their cars. Hundreds of people were gathered there when the explosion took place.

A team of medics are en route from Yerevan to Stepanakert by helicopter to help the victims, carrying necessary medication and medical supplies, the healthcare ministry said. Last week’s offensive came after a months-long blockade of the region by Azerbaijan that caused shortages of essential supplies.

“As a result of the explosion, Azerbaijan prepared nearby local hospitals and started negotiations on the evacuation of the wounded, but representatives of the Armenian residents of Karabakh did not accept this proposal,” said Al Jazeera’s correspondent Osama bin Javaid, reporting from the Azerbaijani city of Horadiz.

The announcement of the death toll came amid people fleeing the region, with Armenia saying that 13,350 “forcibly displaced persons” entered the country. In a statement, the government also said it would provide accommodation for all those in need.

On the diplomatic front, national security advisers from Azerbaijan, Armenia, France, Germany and the European Union special representative for the region are scheduled to meet in Brussels on Tuesday, according to Aljazeera.

Simon Mordue, chief diplomatic adviser to European Council President Charles Michel, will chair the talks, the latter’s spokesperson told Al Jazeera.

“This is to take stock of the current situation and prepare for a possible meeting of leaders in Granada,” said Ecaterina Casinege, referring to the Spanish city.

Azerbaijan’s military attacked Nagorno-Karabakh on September 19, announcing 24 hours later to have won control over the enclave. The offensive forced ethnic Armenian authorities in the region to agree to lay down weapons and start “reintegration” talks, under a ceasefire agreement brokered by traditional regional powerhouse Russia.

Azerbaijani authorities promised to respect the rights and security of Armenians living in the region. But the news of their reintegration into Azerbaijan was met with panic and chaos among ethnic Armenians who fear that the long history of hatred and violence between the two would make any form of co-habitation impossible.

On the road heading to Armenia, more and more residents from the region appeared to be trying to get out.

“It’s a steady stream of people, we have seen in the distance miles and miles of ques of people lining up to leave,” said bin Javaid.

“The people are living with whatever they can put their hands, in whatever vehicle they can find, but they want to go out despite all assurances that have been given by the Azerbaijani authorities,” he added, Aljazeera reported.

At a refugee centre in Goris, Valentina Asryan, a 54-year-old from the village of Vank who fled with her grandchildren, told AFP news agency her brother-in-law was killed and several other people were injured by Azerbaijani fire.

The National Examinations Board (NEB) has started conducting grade increment examinations for class 12 students from today.

NEB Chairperson Dr Mahashram Sharma said the grade increment exam is taking place from today for the students who obtained ‘non-graded (NG)’ in the results of class 12 published on August 15.

NEB’s Controller of Examinations, Krishna Prasad Sharma, said the examination is scheduled for today and Wednesday from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm.

A total of 123,396 students are attending the grade increment exam. Four hundred nineteen examination centers have been determined across the country for the same. Of them, 79,584 students have been non-graded in one subject.

As per the letter grading guideline, any subject with less than 35 percent marks is non-graded (NG). The examination is taking place peacefully at all the exam centers across the country, shared Sharma.

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The environment in Chitwan National Park is considered suitable for rhinoceros. Similarly, Koshi Tappu Wildlife Sanctuary is famous for wild water buffalo, locally known as Arna. Likewise, Shuklaphanta has a suitable environment for swamp deer. These wildlife species thrive in these natural habitats. Of late, there have been efforts to translocate them to new locations, but these efforts have failed to deliver desired results.

In the past 36 years, 120 rhinos have been translocated from Chitwan National Park to Bardiya National Park. Of these 120 rhinos, only 38 remain. Similarly, four rhinoceroses were translocated to Shuklaphanta National Park in 20021 and another 10 in 2016. Shuklaphanta's rhino population has reached 17. In Bardiya, the number has decreased significantly.

Likewise, of the 15 Arna brought to Chitwan National Park (three from Central Zoo, Kathmandu, and 12 from Koshi Tappu), none survived. Four swamp deer brought from Shuklaphanta to Chitwan also couldn’t survive. 

At a time when translocation efforts are not delivering desired results, efforts are underway to take two rhinoceroses from Chitwan to Koshi Tappu. While preparations are underway to relocate two rhinoceroses rescued and raised by the park officials after they got separated from their mothers, conservation activists have been saying that wildlife relocation efforts have not been successful in Nepal. 

Rampreet Yadav, the former Chief Conservation Officer of Chitwan National Park, said translocations were being carried out without proper study and discussion. He said that is not in favor of translocation. “Rhinoceros population didn’t increase in Bardiya and Shuklaphanta. Likewise, swamp deer and Arna brought to Chitwan didn’t survive. This shows translocation efforts were not delivering desired results,” he added. “Proper consideration should be given to habitat, environment, and grazing grounds before translocation.”

Nepal had sent rhinoceroses to Dudhwa National Park in India after being denied relocation by Kaziranga National Park in Assam. But in Nepal, rhino translocations have been ongoing without assessing their success.

Nepal first translocated rhinoceroses to Bardiya in 1986. More rhinoceroses were moved to Bardiya in 2003 and 2017. In 2005, Bardiya had 67 rhinoceroses. The number dropped to 22 in 2008. As per the 2021 count, Bardiya has 38 rhinoceroses. National park officials say rhinos move from Bardiya to Katarniyaghat Wildlife Sanctuary in India.

Ten rhinoceroses were translocated to Shuklaphanta in March 2017. The number has grown to 17. Conservation activists say the population didn’t increase as expected because the habitat there, mainly composed of large grasslands, is not suitable for rhinoceroses. “Translocation would have made sense had there been a huge population of, say, 2,000-3,000 rhinos. Translocation is not a good move given the small size of the rhino population. It has not yielded any success,” Ram Kumar Aryal, former chief of National Trust for Nature Conservation, Sauraha, said. “The rhino population increased significantly in Chitwan, but it is decreasing in Bardiya.”

According to Aryal, more translocations will only invite more challenges for conservation. The two rhinos being prepared for translocation, Pushpa (four years) and Anjali (2.5 years), were rescued by conservation workers when they got separated from their mothers. These two calves were raised in NTNC Sauraha Office and released in the Lamital area of the national park. Pushpa and Anjali are being translocated to Koshi Tappu on Wednesday.

Tourism entrepreneurs in Sauraha have expressed dissatisfaction with rhino translocation. “Who will be responsible for the loss in rhino population due to translocations in the past?” Suman Ghimire, former president of the Regional Hotel Association of Nepal, Sauraha, said. “We are not against translocation. But a proper study and discussions should be held before relocation.”

Doctors serving in different hospitals staged a protest in the Capital on Tuesday demanding security.

They staged a demonstration in Maitighar this afternoon in protest against the assult on doctors of Lamjung Hospital and Manipal Teaching Hospital.

While staging the protest, they demanded the resignation of Home Minister Narayankaji Shrestha and Health Minister Mohan Bahadur Basnet.

The doctors staged the protest carrying placards and banners with various slogans such as How long will they attack the doctors? And Doctors cannot be assaulted among others.

Nepal Medical Association General Secretary Dr Sanjeeb Tiwari said that the people involved in attacking doctors in various parts of the country should be brought to book.

It has become difficult for doctors and health workers to provide health services in a safe environment in health institutions across the country after a doctor was assaulted following the death of a patient in the Manipal Teaching Hospital recetnly, he said.

Dr Tiwari said that the environment of providing regular health services will be adversely affected if stern action is not taken against the culprits.