Azerbaijan marks second anniversary of Hadrut's liberation

Today, October 9, marks two years since the liberation of the village of Hadrut in Azerbaijan's Khojavand region from the Armenian occupation.

On the 13th day of the Patriotic War, October 9, 2020, the Azerbaijani army achieved another historic success. On this day, nine settlements were liberated, the largest of which is the village of Hadrut. It should be noted that during the day, the villages of Gishlag, Garajalli, Afandilar, Suleymanli of the Jabrayil district, the village of Chayli of the Tartar district, the settlements of Yukhari Guzlyak and Gorazilli of the Fuzuli district, as well as the Sor settlement of the Khojavand district were also liberated.

During the years of the Armenian occupation, the village of Hadrut was not only a fortified strategic position, but also an important point for the transfer of additional forces in the Fuzuli and Jabrayil directions.

On December 24, 2021, speaking at the opening of a military unit in the village of Hadrut, Azerbaijani President, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev touched upon the operation to liberate Hadrut from the Armenian occupation.

"The Hadrut operation had a special significance in the Second Karabakh War. First of all, because the liberation of this strategic settlement from occupation has become an additional support for our future plans, since if we had not liberated Hadrut from the invaders, our subsequent operations could have faced even greater difficulties. It is no coincidence that after Jabrayil, the first to be liberated from occupation, Hadrut became the second major settlement. On October 9 last year, the victorious Azerbaijani army liberated this village from the invaders. Everyone who is here, seeing the mountains surrounding this village, can understand what a big, difficult and honourable mission it was, because the hated enemy built powerful fortifications on all lands that had been under occupation for 30 years, created several lines of defensive fortifications. In addition, the natural relief of the Karabakh and East Zangazur regions was also favourable for the enemy, because, being located in these mountains, on these hills, they received a great military advantage. So it was our professionalism, physical strength, and moral training, patriotism, and dedication of our servicemen that allowed us to win this glorious Victory.

I am sure that the Hadrut operation will take its rightful place in the modern history of world wars. Armenia tried to keep Hadrut under its control at any cost. Even a few days after the liberation of Hadrut from the invaders, they, spreading lies in their characteristic manner, claimed that Hadrut was allegedly in their hands. The victorious Azerbaijani army has already raised our national flag in Hadrut. Hadrut and all the adjacent heights were with us. Armenia, realising the moral and psychological state of its army, spread lies about Hadrut. I must also say that after the liberation of Hadrut, desertions in the Armenian army became even more widespread, and, by their own admission, there were 10,000 deserters during the war. There was not a single deserter in the Azerbaijani army. Our patriotic spirit, heroism, attachment to the Motherland, selflessness have created a clear picture of the Azerbaijani army and the Azerbaijani people all over the world. We have shown that we are a great people who will liberate the lands belonging to us at any cost," President Ilham Aliyev said.