Azernews.Az

Twenty years have passed since Azerbaijan's Khojavand region was occupied by Armenian armed forces during a brutal war between the two South Caucasus neighbors.

The region with an area of 1,458 square kilometers and population of about 41,216 people was occupied by Armenian forces on October 2, 1992.

Since the war, which ended with the signing of a precarious cease-fire in 1994, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including the Nagorno Karabakh region, defying international calls and UN resolutions. Long-standing efforts by US, Russian and French mediators have been fruitless so far.

The Khojavand region was established on the basis of Martuni and Hadrut regions after the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region was abolished in 1991. The Khojavand regional center, two large settlements, Girmizi Bazar and Hadrut, and 83 villages are located in the region.

More than 100 residents of the Khojavand region died in battles with Armenia during the armed conflict in the early 1990s.

According to the center evaluating the damage inflicted to the environment and natural resources in the Azerbaijani occupied territories, drug crops planted in the occupied territory of Khojavand are delivered to a number of countries. The flora and fauna of the region have been depleted. Trees are felled and transported to Armenia and other countries as construction materials.