Great Return: Keys to flats handed over to residents in Azerbaijan’s Khojaly UPDATED / Photo

A further group of former internally displaced persons (IDPs) has arrived in the city of Khojaly with keys to their new flats being handed over to them.

Representatives from Service of Restoration, Construction, and Management in Khankandi City, Aghdara and Khojali districts and the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs, attended the ceremony, Caliber.Az reports citing local media.

A new group of families had previously been residing in dormitories, sanatoriums, unfinished buildings, and administrative offices across various parts of the country

The families arriving in Khojaly were welcomed by Telman Karimli, Executive Director of the Restoration, Construction and Management Service, a public legal entity, at various locations including the city of Khankendi, and the districts of Aghdara and Khojaly.

The resettlement process is also underway in a phased manner in Ballija village, part of Khojaly district.

To date, permanent housing has been provided for 85 families — a total of 341 individuals — in Khojaly city itself, while a further 157 families, amounting to 743 people, have been settled in Ballija village.

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Another group of former displaced families has returned home to Khojaly town as part of Azerbaijan’s ambitious “Great Return” programme.

Thus, 33 families — totalling 137 people — are being resettled on April 28 in the historic city of Khojaly, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

The families expressed heartfelt gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva for their unwavering support. They also paid tribute to the courageous Azerbaijani army, whose heroic soldiers and officers liberated their lands after years of occupation.

Today, life is steadily being restored across Karabakh and East Zangazur. More than 40,000 people now live and work in the region — not only the resettled families but also civil servants, healthcare workers, teachers, cultural figures, tourism specialists, and those employed in the rejuvenated industries of energy and manufacturing.

Note that, ​the liberation of Khojaly stands as a pivotal moment in Azerbaijan's recent history, symbolizing the nation's resilience and commitment to justice. In February 1992, Armenian forces, with support from the 366th CIS regiment, perpetrated a massacre in Khojaly, resulting in the deaths of 613 civilians, including 63 children, 106 women, and 70 elderly individuals. This atrocity, recognized by Azerbaijan as genocide, left deep scars on the national consciousness.​

Following the city's liberation in 2023, efforts to restore and commemorate Khojaly have intensified. President Ilham Aliyev has initiated the construction of a memorial complex to honor the victims and ensure the tragedy is never forgotten. Additionally, the "Justice for Khojaly" campaign, launched in 2008, continues to gain international traction, with several countries and U.S. states acknowledging the massacre as a crime against humanity.

By Aghakazim Guliyev