Azerbaijan tightens grip on Nagorno-Karabakh, blocks key road.

Azerbaijani activists are ending their sit-in on the only road out of Nagorno-Karabakh as construction of a checkpoint on the border with Armenia nears completion. The demonstrations were ostensibly called over claims that mining carried out by ethnic Armenians in the breakaway region was poisoning the environment. However, analysts have been quick to point out that they have enjoyed unprecedented support from the state. On Sunday, Azerbaijan announced that it would install a checkpoint on the internationally recognized border, controlling access to and from Nagorno-Karabakh, citing claims that troops and weapons were being brought in by Armenia.