25 years pass since Azerbaijani Kalbajar’s occupation
By Rashid Shirinov
April 2 marks the 25th anniversary of the occupation of Azerbaijan’s Kalbajar region by the Armenian armed forces.
The Armenian attack started on March 27, 1993, and in a week, the Azerbaijani region with the area of 1,936 square kilometers fell under occupation. As a result of the brutal assault, 511 residents were killed, and 321 went missing or were captured. Moreover, 55 soldiers were killed during the fighting.
As many as 53,340 residents of Kalbajar became refugees and IDPs and had to move to other regions of Azerbaijan because of the Armenian attack and occupation of the region.
Armenian invaders virtually destroyed the once flourishing Azerbaijani region: its central city Kalbajar was demolished, as well as about 150 villages, dozens of cultural and historical monuments, a museum, the Istisu sanatorium and many other facilities in the territory of the region.
More than 500 industrial, construction, catering and retail facilities, as well as 97 schools and 76 health facilities were destroyed by the occupiers. Essential monuments of Azerbaijan’s history, such as an Albanian temple, two Albanian churches, Lok, Ulukhan, Galabonu, Jomerd, Keshikchi fortresses, several mosques and many other historical and architectural monuments were demolished.
Moreover, the Armenians plundered natural resources and historical and religious monuments in the region. Estimations showed that the Armenian occupation of Kalbajar inflicted a damage of as many as $761 million to Azerbaijan. Presently, Kalbajar is completely destroyed area reminding an uninhabited desert with the population of just 500 people.
As a result of Armenian attack, Tahir Rahimov, who lived in Kalbajar before its occupation, and his family left Kalbajar and went on foot to the Khanlar region.
"We walked 60-70 kilometers in two days. The traffic on the road was impossible; the road was covered with snow,” Rahimov said remembering those tragic days. “Nobody would think that Kalbajar would become occupied and people would be driven out of their homes. Unfortunately, that happened...”
Rahimov also remembered with regret the Armenians-committed genocide in the Aghdaban village of Kalbajar in April 8, 1992: “So many people were killed during this genocide! The Armenians savagely treated the peaceful people.”
Presently, Rahimov is waiting for his soonest repatriation to Kalbajar: “I see my native land, the village where I grew up and the house where I lived in my dreams. We are waiting for the day of returning to Kalbajar!”
For a long time, Azerbaijan has been suffering from the aggressive policy pursued by Armenia, which occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. However, the Armenian occupiers should know that this will not remain unpunished – over a million of Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs will eventually return to their native lands.
Today, the Armenian side has some time to peacefully withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani territories, but if it does not, the Azerbaijani Army will liberate the occupied lands, including the Kalbajar region, by the use of force.
---
Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz