Great Return: Residents reclaim 29 liberated Azerbaijani settlements in 2025

Under the Great Return program, residents have returned this year to 29 settlements in Azerbaijani territories liberated from occupation, the State Committee for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons announced.

The resettlement process has been conducted in a consistent and systematic manner throughout the year under the direction of President Ilham Aliyev, Caliber.Az reports per local media.

Resettlement has taken place in seven cities—Jabrayil, Shusha, Khojaly, Lachin, Fuzuli, Kalbajar, and Aghdam—19 villages, including Khorovlu (Jabrayil), Sarijali, Kangarli, Khidirli (Aghdam), Ballija, Khanyurdu, Tazabina, Seyidbayli, Badara, Shushakand, Dashbulag (Khojaly), Hasanriz, Sugovushan, Kolatagh, Vangli (Aghdara), Beylik (Lachin), Sos, Aghali, and Mammadbayli (Zangilan), and three settlements: Girmizi Bazar and Hadrut (Khojavand) and Karkijahan (Khankandi).

Launched after Azerbaijan’s Victory in the 44-day Patriotic War of 2020, the Great Return program is a comprehensive initiative designed to resettle over one million former internally displaced persons in their ancestral lands by 2030.

The program focuses on rebuilding housing and infrastructure, alongside establishing schools, healthcare centres, utilities, and other vital services, with special attention to mine clearance and sustainable development.

By Jeyhun Aghazada