Azerbaijani families head back to Karkijahan settlement of Khankendi

The first group of residents has arrived in the village of Karkijahan, in the city of Khankendi, on December 20.

According to local news outlet, the group consists of families who had been temporarily living in various regions across the country, mainly in dormitories, sanatoria, and administrative buildings.

At this initial stage, 30 families, totalling 115 people, are being resettled in the village as part of a broader repatriation effort.

Karkijahan is a settlement near the city of Khankendi in Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region. Before the conflict in the late 20th century, it was home to nearly 1,800 people, with around 350 private houses, a secondary school and other infrastructure serving the local population.

During the escalation of the Karabakh conflict in the late 1980s and early 1990s, residents of Karkijahan — like many others in the region — faced growing ethnic tensions and violence.

Azerbaijani witnesses have testified that from 1987 onwards, Azerbaijani residents experienced threats and attacks, and that by December 1991, the settlement was captured and occupied, leading to the destruction of homes and forcing families to flee.

By Aghakazim Guliyev