Azerbaijan marks day of Lachin city

Lachin City Day is celebrated in Azerbaijan for the first time today.

Caliber.Az reports that Lachin City Day will be solemnly celebrated annually on August 26 in accordance with the order signed by President Ilham Aliyev last month.

The significant date is related to the deployment of the Azerbaijani Army in Lachin city on August 26 last year. On that day, President Ilham Aliyev announced on his Twitter page (now social network X) the happy news of the return of Azerbaijanis to the town of Lachin: "Today, August 26, we - Azerbaijanis have returned to the city of Lachin. The Azerbaijani army is stationed in the city of Lachin. The villages of Zabukh and Sus have been taken under control. I congratulate all residents of Lachin and the Azerbaijani people on this occasion. Long live Lachin! Long live Azerbaijan!"

On August 26, the State Flag of Azerbaijan was raised in the town of Lachin. Commander of the Army Corps Major General Kanan Seyidov reported to Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces President Ilham Aliyev on the deployment of the Azerbaijani Army in Lachin.

The Azerbaijani national flag has been flying in the centre of Lachin for a year now.

It should be noted that our ancestral historical lands, occupied for almost 30 years as a result of Armenian military aggression, were liberated by military-political means during the 44-day Patriotic War, and every day leading to the glorious victory is written in golden letters in the history of Azerbaijan.

During the Patriotic War, at the cost of blood and lives of soldiers and officers of the brave Azerbaijani Army, more than 300 settlements were liberated from occupation, including the towns of Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Zangilan, Gubadli, Minjivan, Aghbend, Bartaz in Zangilan district, Hadrut village and many villages in Khojavand district, Sugovushan village in Tartar district, several villages in Khojaly and Lachin districts, as well as important strategic heights in Aghdara, Murovdagh and Zangilan directions. The war ended with the liberation of the town of Shusha, the crown of Karabakh, and the signing of the Capitulation Act by Armenia.

The great victory gained by Azerbaijan on the battlefield was also confirmed at the political level - Armenia was forced to liberate the districts of Aghdam, Kalbajar, and Lachin from occupation, and thus historical justice was restored. According to the trilateral statement signed by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Russia, and Armenia, after Azerbaijan's victory in the Patriotic War, the Lachin district was liberated from occupation on December 1, 2020.

During the 30-year occupation, our cities, towns, and villages were destroyed by Armenia, our cultural heritage was seriously damaged, and historical-cultural and religious monuments and mosques were ruined and vandalised. Karabakh and East Zangazur, liberated from occupation, are now being rebuilt, territories are being cleared of mines, and extensive reconstruction and construction work is proceeding rapidly.

The "I State Programme on the Great Return to the territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan liberated from occupation", approved by presidential order of November 16, 2022, is being implemented for the return of former IDPs to their native lands. The return of IDPs to Lachin city has already started and the work in this direction continues.

Along with Lachin town, rehabilitation, and reconstruction works are also underway in Zabukh and Sus villages.