"Great Return": New residents of Azerbaijan's Hasanriz, Sarijali villages receive keys to homes PHOTO

Another group of former internally displaced persons (IDPs) arriving in the village of Hasanriz in the Aghdara district and the village of Sarijali in the Aghdam district have been handed the keys to their new homes.

The ceremony was attended by representatives of the Special Presidential Representative Office in the city of Khankendi and the Aghdara and Khojaly districts, as well as officials from the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

With this latest resettlement, the total number of families relocated to Hasanriz has reached 130 (452 individuals), while in Sarijali, 186 families (775 individuals) have now been resettled.

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Today, June 24, another group of former internally displaced persons (IDPs) was relocated to the village of Hasanriz in the Aghdara district and to the village of Sarijali in the Aghdam district.

The resettled families had previously been living temporarily in various parts of the country, mainly in dormitories, sanatoriums, and administrative buildings, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

At this stage, 40 families (146 individuals) have been resettled in Hasanriz, while one family (four individuals) has moved to Sarijali.

With this latest relocation, the total number of families resettled in Hasanriz has reached 130 (452 people), and in Sarijali — 186 families (775 people).

Following two years of intensive demining and reconstruction efforts after the liberation of a significant part of its territories from Armenian occupation through the 44-day Second Karabakh War of 2020, in July 2022, Azerbaijan officially launched the Great Return program as a comprehensive, state-led effort to facilitate the safe and dignified return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their revitalised ancestral lands.

The program aims to restore communities and ensure sustainable living conditions in the Karabakh and East Zangezur regions. By 2026, the first phase targets the resettlement of 140,000 IDPs across 100 settlements, with a long-term goal of full restoration by 2040.

By Khagan Isayev