"Great Return": Khojaly, Jabrayil welcome new residents PHOTO

A new group of former internally displaced persons (IDP) has departed for the city of Khojaly and the village of Khorovlu in the Jabrayil district.

These families had previously been housed temporarily in dormitories, sanitaria, children’s camps, unfinished buildings and administrative facilities, Caliber.Az reports per local media.

At this stage, 25 families (136 people) are returning to Khojaly, while 47 families (189 people) are resettling in Khorovlu.

The returnees expressed gratitude to the head of state and First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva for comprehensive government support, and thanked the brave Azerbaijani Army for liberating the country’s lands from occupation, wishing peace to the souls of the martyrs who fell for this cause.

Among those returning during this phase is Shamakhy Abdulazimova, a former internally displaced resident of the Jabrayil's Khorovlu village and the mother of martyr Nemat Mehrailov, who described the homecoming as the end of a decades-long longing for her native land.

She said that they had long yearned for their land and that, by the grace of the Almighty, this longing had finally come to an end.

“May God grant peace to the souls of the martyrs and health to the veterans who, under the President’s leadership, liberated our lands. From now on, we will live and die on our own soil. My son became a martyr in the First Karabakh War, and today I return to my homeland with my husband and daughter.”

Another returnee, 17-year-old Tarlan Hasanzade, who arrived in Khojaly as part of the latest resettlement group, shared her emotions about seeing her family’s native land for the first time since its liberation.

“Khojaly is my homeland. I had never visited the place where my parents were born after it was freed, and today I feel both joy and sadness,” she said. “I grew up hearing stories about Khojaly from my parents and elders. My dream is to enter Karabakh University, and I hope I can make that dream come true.”

The latest phase of the “Great Return” programme continues to reconnect families with their ancestral homes and restore life across Azerbaijan’s liberated territories.

Azerbaijan’s military achievements during the 44-day war in 2020—when a substantial part of the occupied territories was liberated—and the anti-terror operation of September 19–20,  2023, which restored full sovereignty, significantly accelerated the program’s progress.

These developments opened the way for the secure return of IDPs to their native lands and helped reverse the long-lasting impact of occupation, including the devastation of villages, cultural heritage sites such as numerous mosques, and essential infrastructure.

By Jeyhun Aghazada