"Great Return": Another group of former IDPs return to Khorovlu village in Jabrayil Photo

Another group of formally internally displaced persons (IDPs) has departed for the rebuilt village of Khorovlu in Azerbaijan’s Jabrayil district.

The latest group of returnees consists of families who had been temporarily housed for years in various regions of the country, including in dormitories, sanatoriums, and administrative buildings, Caliber.Az reports per local media. 

Returning residents expressed gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva for their comprehensive state support. They also thanked the valiant Azerbaijani Army, its heroic soldiers and officers, and honoured the memory of the martyrs who gave their lives for the liberation of the country's lands.

Among the returnees was former IDP Mustagim Baladzhayev, who said he was pleased to be going back to his native village. 

He indicated that his family’s first stop after arriving in Khorovlu would be the local cemetery, where they plan to visit the graves of relatives and fallen soldiers. Baladzhayev also noted that the village had been rebuilt and that his family looked forward to seeing the new conditions on the ground.

The relocation of IDPs to territories regained after decades of Armenian occupation remains a key element of Azerbaijan’s post-conflict recovery strategy. The initiative, known as the “Great Return” program, addresses the displacement of nearly 600,000 Azerbaijanis during the First Karabakh War in the early 1990s.

The program gained momentum after Azerbaijan’s military successes in the 44-day war of 2020, which saw the liberation of a significant portion of occupied land, and the September 19–20, 2023 anti-terrorist operation that restored full sovereignty over the region.

These events enabled the safe return of IDPs to their ancestral lands, reversing the effects of occupation, which included the destruction of villages, cultural sites (e.g., dozens of mosques), and infrastructure.

By Sabina Mammadli