Azerbaijan celebrates Lachin City Day, marking historic return in 2022

Azerbaijan is celebrating Lachin City Day today.

As Caliber.Az notes, this date is observed annually on August 26 under a decree signed by President Ilham Aliyev on July 31, 2023.

The commemoration marks the historic moment on August 26, 2022, when the Azerbaijani Army was deployed to the city of Lachin. On that day, President Aliyev announced the return of Azerbaijanis to the city in a post shared on his social media account.

“Today, on August 26, we – the Azerbaijanis – have returned to the city of Lachin. Azerbaijan’s Army is now stationed in the city of Lachin. The villages of Zabukh and Sus were taken under control.

I congratulate all the residents of Lachin and the people of Azerbaijan on this occasion.

Long live Lachin!

Long live Azerbaijan!” the President wrote.

On August 26, 2022, the national flag of Azerbaijan was raised in Lachin. Army Corps Commander Major General Kanan Seyidov reported to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Ilham Aliyev, about the deployment of Azerbaijani forces in the city.

To ensure the safe and organised return of former internally displaced persons to their native lands, the "1st State Program on the Great Return to the Liberated Territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan" was approved by presidential decree on November 16, 2022.

The process of resettling IDPs in the city of Lachin has already begun and continues to progress. Extensive restoration and reconstruction projects are underway not only in the city itself but also in the nearby villages of Zabukh and Sus.

By Tamilla Hasanova