Great Return: Dozens of Azerbaijani families arrive in Aghdara PHOTO / Updated

Several groups of former displaced Azerbaijanis have arrived in the city of Aghdara after being sent to the villages of Ashaghy Oratag, Chyldyran, Chapar, and Kheyvaly in the Aghdara district.

Officials from the Special Representation of the President of Azerbaijan in the cities of Khankendi, Aghdara, and Khojaly, as well as representatives from the State Committee for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, welcomed arrivals, local media reports.

Keys to the new apartments have been handed over to families.

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Dozens of Azerbaijani families have begun returning to villages in the Aghdara district as part of a large-scale resettlement programme.

63 families who had been temporarily housed across various regions of the country – primarily in dormitories, sanatoriums, and administrative buildings – have now been relocated to the villages of Ashaghy Oratag, Chyldyran, Chapar, and Kheyvaly.

At this stage, 29 families (141 people) have returned to Ashaghy Oratag, 10 families (46 people) to Chyldyran, seven families (22 people) to Chapar, and 17 families (84 people) to Kheyvaly.

With this latest movement, a total of 787 families, comprising 3,011 individuals, have been resettled across nine villages in the Aghdara district.

Launched after Azerbaijan’s victory in the 44-day Karabakh war in 2020, the Great Return initiative aims to resettle over one million formerly internally displaced persons (IDPs) in their ancestral lands by 2030.

The programme focuses on rebuilding housing and infrastructure, establishing schools and healthcare facilities, restoring utilities, clearing mines, and promoting sustainable development.

By Aghakazim Guliyev