Khankendi local says Azerbaijanis always lived there PHOTO

There have always been Azerbaijanis living in Khankendi, veteran of the First Garabagh War, an IDP from the Kerkijahan settlement of Khankendi district Murvat Aliyev said.

“In 1990 we were forcibly evicted from there. I still keep the documents for our two-storey house,” he told Report.

"I was born in Khankendi in 1964, we lived there before the war. I was drafted for military service from there, and that's where I returned to. When Armenians first attacked our homes in Khankendi on 13 February 1988, we resisted. After that, our black days began. I graduated from an 8-year secondary school in Kerkijahan and Nizami Ganjavi full secondary school in Khankendi," the war veteran said.

He emphasised that they had three men at home and all three of them participated in the war.

“We fought till the end. And today, despite the fact that I am 60 years old, I will fight for Khankendi and give my life,” he said, adding that he is looking forward to returning to Khankendi.

"After the capture of Shusha city, my children brought me soil from there, I scattered it on my parents' grave so that their souls would find peace. I am looking forward to the day when we bring the land from Khankendi,” he noted.