Great Return: 54 Azerbaijani families resettle in liberated Sugovushan Photo

As part of the State Programme on the Great Return, another group of internally displaced persons has returned to Azerbaijan's liberated village of Sugovushan in the Aghdara district.

This latest phase has seen the resettlement of 54 families, comprising 179 individuals, Caliber.Az reports per local media. 

These citizens had previously been living in various regions across the country, including temporary accommodations such as dormitories, sanatoriums, and public buildings, due to their displacement. 

With the completion of this stage, the total number of families resettled in Sugovushan has reached 180, bringing the total population restored to the village to 591 people.

Valida Amiraslanova, a resident of the village of Sugovushan, said: "After years of being displaced and enduring various hardships, we are finally going to live in comfortable conditions."

Amiraslanova recalled the difficult years during the occupation but explained that even then, they never lost hope of returning home.

"When we became internally displaced persons, we were sheltered in a farm building in the Imishli region. Despite all the trials we faced over the years, we always kept hope alive. We believed that one day, we would return to our native land. Today, I am filled with immense joy — we are going back home," she stressed. 

Sugovushan, a strategically important village in Azerbaijan's Aghdara district, was liberated from Armenian control on October 3, 2020 during the Second Karabakh War. Azerbaijani forces raised the national flag in the village, marking a symbolic victory on the northeastern front.

Historically known as Sugovushan, the village was renamed Madagiz during the Soviet era. It had changed hands in the early 1990s before being occupied by Armenian forces in 1994. Over time, it became a vital Armenian military base, housing elite units such as Military Units No. 49971 and 33651.

The operation to reclaim Sugovushan was one of the war’s most decisive moments. Azerbaijani forces destroyed four Armenian tanks and captured three more, while artillery strikes obliterated Armenia's 5th Mountain Rifle Regiment, forcing its units to retreat.

By Aghakazim Guliyev