Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Twenty two years have passed since the occupation of Azerbaijan’s ancient and historical Aghdam, a region that had a great role in the vitality of the country for its economical and scientific potential.

July 23 marks the invasion of Aghdam by the Armenian armed forces during the brutal war fought by the two South Caucasus republics in the early 1990s.

The occupation of Aghdam was the third painful blow to Azerbaijan following the occupations of Lachin and Kalbajar regions around Nagorno-Karabakh. As a result of the attack, the town was razed to the ground.

Armenians invaded the majority of Aghdam's territory on July 23, 1993. The Armenian aggressors seized 882 sq. km. of the 1,094 sq. km. of territory, including one city and 80 villages. Some 128,000 people became internally displaced, 17,000 of them were adults.

Over 6,000 people died during the fighting in Aghdam. About 130,000 displaced persons from Aghdam have been settled in 875 settlements of 59 regions across Azerbaijan.

Following the occupation of Aghdam, the UN Security Council adopted the resolution 853, which demanded "the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of occupying forces from the Aghdam and other recently occupied regions of Azerbaijan.”

Yerevan, however, remains completely indifferent to the four UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly resolutions calling for an immediate and unconditional pullout of Armenian armed force from all of the occupied territories.

Even more damage was sustained in the following decades when Aghdam town was looted for building materials. Aghdam currently stands as a ruined and uninhabitable town. It is frequently referred as a ‘ghost town’ by foreign media.

Armenian vandals destroyed historical monuments, cemeteries, hospitals, libraries, schools, offices, and facilities in the occupied territory. 122 villages, around 24,000 residential buildings, 48 industrial and construction enterprises, 160 schools, 65 health centers, 373 cultural centers, 1 theater, 3 mosques and 2 museums were burnt down and destroyed completely.

Many historical architectural monuments once stood proudly in the region. Their names alone – Uzerlik Hill situated in the village of Khindiristan, the cupola of Gutlu Musa oglu in Khachinderbend (1314-th year), the tombs and the stone monuments in Salahli-Kengerli village (14th century), Khanoglu tomb (17th century), the mansion of Karabakh Khan Panahali and his family (18th century), the castle of Shahbulaq, and many others– confirm that the region has a rightful place as a historical part of Azerbaijan.

Most of these monuments, however, were destroyed following Armenian occupation. They included the Khanoglu tomb (17th century), the mansion of Panahali Khan and his tomb (19th century), and the twin-minaret Aghdam Juma mosque (1870).

Armenia still continues to plunder Azerbaijan’s cultural heritage and consistently violates “The Hague Convention clause on the protection of cultural property during war” and the provision on the "illicit traffic of cultural property" from the Paris Convention.

The Armenian invaders also depleted the natural resources of the region after the occupation, according to a study by the Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry of Azerbaijan.

Eastern sycamore trees as old as 400 years and various other tree species have been destroyed in the occupied territories and face possible evisceration from the world’s flora treasures. Arsons committed by Armenian soldiers in the region’s occupied villages resulted in the perishing of various species of partridge, pheasant, and vipers which are listed as endangered species in the "Red Book" of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Natural Resources Red List of Threatened Species.

As a result of the occupation of Aghdam, Azerbaijan sustained material damages worth a staggering $6.179 billion. The damages inflicted to the region's agriculture alone were estimated at 992.8 million manats ($1.272 billion).

Armenia's territorial claims in the late 1980s and the ensuing military aggression resulted in the occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. Over a million Azerbaijanis became refugees and IDPs in the aftermath of the ensuing war between the two South Caucasus republics.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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