70% of hospitals in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) are heated with gas, Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan has said, as Azerbaijan has been hindering the repairs of a damaged pipeline for nine days now.

Stepanyan said Wednesday, March 16 that 400 patients are currently receiving inpatient treatment in Karabakh, including 46 are children of different ages and 50 new mothers and their babies.

"Azerbaijan continues to deprive the people of Artsakh of gas supply in the absence of international reaction," Stepanyan tweeted.

100,000 residents in Karabakh have been deprived of gas for some 10 days now, and because the pipeline has been damaged in territories currently under Baku's control, the Azerbaijani military won't allow the Armenian side to eliminate the problem.

The Azerbaijan armed forces have also been violating the ceasefire and using loudspeakers to spread panic among the population of Nagorno-Karabakh, attempting to force them to leave their homes.