The mass exodus to Armenia comes after Azerbaijan regained control of the region.

The leadership of the 120,000 Armenians who call the region home told Reuters they do not want to live there anymore because they fear persecution and ethnic cleansing.

"No one is going back - that's it," Anna Agopyan, who reached Goris, a border town in Armenia, told the news agency. "The topic of Karabakh is over now for good I think."

"I left everything there," said Srbuhi, a tearful mother-of-three, as she held her young daughter.

As families loaded their belongings into buses and trucks, ethnic Armenian officials in the region said preparations - including free fuel - were being made for those wanting to leave the territory.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a disputed area surrounded by territory largely held by Azerbaijan, and has been a flashpoint since the end of the Soviet Union.

The US and EU have expressed "deep concerns" for the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, which is recognised internationally as part of Azerbaijan but had been under Armenian control.

More than 6,000 people died in a war three years ago which saw Azerbaijan regain parts of the region and surrounding territories that had been under Armenian control since 1994.

Azerbaijan claimed full control of the mountainous region after launching a military operation last week following months of tension.

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It said it launched its offensive hours after four soldiers and two civilians were allegedly killed in landmine explosions in the territory.

Armenia denied its troops or weapons were in the region and said claims of landmines and sabotage were untrue.

Dozens died in the days of fighting that followed before a ceasefire was agreed.