Jabrayil rebuilt: Former residents return to renewed hopes and prosperity PHOTO

As part of Azerbaijan's "Great Return" State Programme, another group of former internally displaced persons (IDPs) has been relocated to liberated territories.

A convoy of 40 families — 200 individuals — was sent today to the rebuilt town of Jabrayil, Caliber.Az reports.

These families had previously lived in temporary accommodations such as hostels, sanatoriums, and administrative buildings.

Currently, approximately 30,000 people reside in Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur. In Khankendi, over 6,000 residents are settled, including 1,300 students and staff at Karabakh University and another 500 students attending the Nizami Ganjavi Secondary School. Additionally, more than 20,000 specialists are engaged in reconstruction and construction efforts across the region.

“After thirty years of separation, I am returning to Jabrayil again,” said Yusif Kerimov, a former IDP.

Kerimov expressed his overwhelming joy, saying, “I was born and raised in Jabrayil. My childhood and youth were spent there. My happiness is beyond words.”

He extended heartfelt gratitude to everyone who contributed to making this possible, thanking the defenders of the homeland, honouring the memory of fallen heroes, and wishing good health to veterans.

Jabrayil district was established on August 8, 1930. On January 4, 1963, it was abolished and merged with Fuzuli district. It was re-established on June 17, 1964.

Jabrayil is located in the southeast of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains, in the foothills of the Karabakh range. To the south, the district borders Iran.

The total area is 1,049 square metres, with most of it consisting of mountainous terrain. On August 23, 1993, Armenian forces occupied Jabrayil district, which included one town, four settlements, and 97 villages.

Throughout the occupation, displaced persons from Jabrayil lived in tent camps, cargo wagons, and dormitories in 2,000 settlements across 58 districts of the country.

On January 5, 1994, during the Horadiz operation, the village of Jojug Marjanly in the Jabrayil district was liberated from occupation.

Six days after the victory in the Patriotic War, on November 16, 2020, President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva visited Jabrayil district, which had been freed from occupation. The President raised the Azerbaijani flag in Jabrayil and on the Khudafarin Bridge. On October 4, 2021, President Ilham Aliyev visited Jabrayil district again.

The Day of Jabrayil City is solemnly celebrated on October 4 every year following the decree signed by President Ilham Aliyev.

Since the liberation of Azerbaijani lands in 2020, the government has launched extensive infrastructure projects in Karabakh, including the construction of roads, schools, and healthcare facilities to facilitate the resettlement of IDPs. The "Great Return" initiative, which officially began in 2022, gained momentum following the successful counter-terrorism measures in September 2023, ensuring full sovereignty over Karabakh.

The first phase of the programme aims to resettle 140,000 people across 100 reconstructed settlements in Karabakh and East Zangezur by 2026. A second phase, running from 2026 to 2040, will complete the resettlement of all liberated territories.

To date, 2,235 families — 8,543 individuals — have returned to various areas, including Aghali village in Zangilan, Talish in Aghdara, Fuzuli, Lachin, Zabukh, Sus, Shusha, Khojaly, and Jabrayil. Among them are 137 families, comprising 474 individuals, who had previously lived in shared accommodations.

By Tamilla Hasanova