Azerbaijan advances "Great Return" with new Lachin resettlement More families come back home

On September 23, in line with the instructions of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, another group of former internally displaced persons departed from Baku’s Garadagh district for the city of Lachin.

According to local media, this stage of the “Great Return” programme involves the resettlement of 20 families, comprising 86 individuals. These families had previously lived in temporary accommodations such as dormitories, sanatoriums, pioneer camps, unfinished buildings, and administrative premises across different regions of the country.

The returnees expressed gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva for the extensive state support provided to them. They also conveyed deep appreciation to the Azerbaijani Army, paying tribute to the soldiers and officers whose heroism secured the liberation of their lands, and honoured the memory of the martyrs who gave their lives for this cause.

This new stage of resettlement has been made possible thanks to the outcome of the 2020 Patriotic War and the subsequent Trilateral Statement signed on November 10, 2020, by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Under that agreement, the Lachin district was officially returned to Azerbaijan on December 1, 2020.

Lachin had fallen under occupation on May 18, 1992, during the First Karabakh War. Its liberation began in the autumn of 2020, when, on September 27, the Azerbaijani Army launched a counter-offensive in response to provocations by Armenian armed forces. In 44 days of fierce battles, Azerbaijan freed 5 cities, 4 settlements, and 286 villages from occupation.

The territories liberated included the city of Jabrayil and 90 villages of the district; the city of Fuzuli and 53 villages; the city of Zangilan along with the settlements of Minjivan, Aghband, Bartaz, and 52 villages; the settlement of Hadrut and 35 villages of the Khojavend district; 3 villages in the Tartar district; the city of Gubadli and 41 villages; 9 villages in the Khojaly district; the city of Shusha; 3 villages in the Lachin district; as well as several strategically important heights in the Aghdara and Murovdagh directions, including Bartaz, Sygyrt, Shukurataz, and five unnamed heights in Zangilan.

The Patriotic War concluded with a decisive Azerbaijani victory, and in all liberated cities, villages, and settlements, the national tricolour flag of Azerbaijan was raised.

Furthermore, by decree of President Ilham Aliyev on July 31, 2023, August 26 was declared Lachin City Day, commemorating the city’s liberation and return to Azerbaijan.

By Tamilla Hasanova