In 1988, with the relaxation of the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev and his policies of "perestroika" and "glasnost", the Armenians demanded the unification of NKAO with Soviet Armenia. The mass movement started in mid-February 1988 and on February 20, 1988, the regional council issued a request to transfer the region to Soviet Armenia. Few days later the Sumgait pogrom took place, leaving dozens of Armenian civilians dead and thousands being forced to leave. This event unofficially starting the first Nagorno-Karabakh War. The clashes escalated to a full-scale war by 1992. Most Armenians of Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis of Armenia were forced to leave. The war ended in May 1994 with the Armenian forces establishing "de facto" control of Nagorno-Karabakh and several Azerbaijani districts surrounding the former NKAO. Today, the area is "de facto" under control of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, but is still recognized as "de jure" part of Azerbaijan by the international community.