Azerbaijan’s Sarijali, Ballija residents receive keys to new apartments PHOTO / UPDATED 

Residents of Azerbaijan’s Sarijali village in the Aghdam district and Ballija village in the Khojaly district have received the keys to their newly constructed apartments during a special ceremony. 

This significant event marks a milestone in the ongoing efforts to improve living conditions for displaced communities in the region, Caliber.Az reports via local media. 

The ceremony was attended by several key officials, including representatives from the Special Representative Office of the President of Azerbaijan in Khankendi, as well as in the Aghdara, Khojaly, Aghdam, Fuzuli, and Khojavend districts.

The Azerbaijani State Committee for Affairs of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons was also involved in the event, further underscoring the government's commitment to addressing the needs of displaced people.

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More than 200 former refugees have returned to their native villages of Sarijali in Aghdam District and Ballydja in Khojaly District of Karabakh, decades after being forcibly displaced from their homes.

A new phase of voluntary resettlement began on April 21, marking yet another milestone in Azerbaijan’s post-conflict recovery, Caliber.Az reports.

The returning families—previously scattered across various temporary shelters, including dormitories, sanatoriums and unfinished buildings—are now heading back to their ancestral lands to rebuild their lives from the ground up.

A total of 55 families are part of this wave of resettlement: 34 families (141 individuals) to Sarijali and 21 families (83 individuals) to Ballija. For many, it’s a moment they thought might never come.

"Today, our dream has come true—we are finally going home," said Almas Aliyeva, a returning resident of Sarijali. Forced to flee her village as a young woman, she is now coming back with her children and grandchildren.

"For over thirty years, we lived with a deep longing for our homeland. Although returning once felt like an impossible dream, hope never left our hearts. I want to thank President Ilham Aliyev and the Azerbaijani Army for making this possible. May the Almighty bless the souls of our martyrs and grant healing to our veterans," she said with emotion.

This resettlement is part of Azerbaijan’s broader reconstruction and reintegration efforts in areas liberated following the 2020 Karabakh conflict. As homes are rebuilt and infrastructure is restored, thousands of families displaced in the 1990s are now being offered a long-awaited return to the places they once called home.

By Aghakazim Guliyev