26 years pass since Azerbaijani Lachin's occupation
By Rashid Shirinov
May 18 marks the 26th anniversary of the occupation of Lachin, an essential mountainous region of Azerbaijan, by the Armenian armed forces.
After the Armenian troops seized the ‘heart’ of Karabakh – Shusha on May 8, 1992, Lachin became trapped between the Armenian occupation forces from the east and the troops located in Armenia itself from the west. The only road from Armenia to Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh passed through the center of Lachin.
Therefore, the Armenian armed forces seized settlements around Lachin and started intensive firing of the center of the region from both sides on May 17. On the next day, the occupiers managed to capture the Lachin city and the Lachin pass. After some time, the Armenian troops occupied the entire region.
As a result, 63,341 Azerbaijani citizens were expelled from their homes in the region. More than 300 Azerbaijani military men and civilians were killed or went missing, while 103 people were wounded or disabled. Armenian invaders did not spare even children – 18 Azerbaijani children were killed and 31 lost both of their parents.
The invaders destroyed hundreds of cultural objects, historical monuments, settlements, and villages in Lachin. As many as 217 cultural, 101 educational and 142 health institutions, 462 trade objects and dozens of other facilities were plundered and demolished.
More than 200 local historical monuments and 54 monuments of world importance became the object of Armenian vandalism. These included the Agoglan Albanian monastery of the 6th century, the Malik Ajdar tomb of the 14th century, a mosque in the Garagishlag village and an ancient cemetery in the Zabukh village.
The Lachin Historical Museum and an old collection of gold, silver and bronze coins were also looted. The exhibit of the museum – a bag of silver – was later sold for $80,000 at Sotheby's auction in London.
In general, the seizure of Lachin, a region of geo-strategic significance for Azerbaijan, dealt a serious blow to the economy of the country – roughly $7 billion.
Moreover, the region was rich in minerals, construction materials, gold, mountain crystal, silk, granite, mercury, limestone, harsh stone, travertine, mineral water, and healing herbs. There were rare mahogany trees, cobalt, uranium, iron, and marble of different colors. As many as 34,877 hectares of Lachin’s territory were covered with rare mahogany trees included in the Red Book. However, Armenians plundered all these natural resources of the region after the invasion.
During the escalating Armenian aggression in 1993, the UN Security Council adopted resolutions No. 822, 853, 874 and 884, which condemn the occupation of the 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories, recognize the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and once again confirm that Nagorno-Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan. The resolutions demand for the full, immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian occupation troops from the Azerbaijani lands.
However, Armenia still refuses to fulfill the demands of the major international organization and shows disrespect to the principles of international law. Nevertheless, all Azerbaijani internally displaced persons, including those from Lachin and other occupied regions, believe that justice will be served eventually, Armenia will withdraw from the Azerbaijani lands, the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan will be restored, and they will return to live in their native places.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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