Official: Preparations underway for another resettlement in Lachin

Orders in connection with the resettlement in Sus and Zabukh villages are expected to be implemented in August, Azerbaijan’s State Committee on Refugees and IDPs Chairman Rovshan Rzayev said.

According to him, funds allocated according to the agreement between the World Bank and the State Committee will be spent only on projects concerning the employment of internally displaced persons (IDPs), Report informs.

"The State Committee will use all opportunities to provide effective assistance to IDPs," Rzayev noted.

He added that preparations for the next resettlement in Lachin are underway, saying that the order of the president will be immediately executed.

Besides, the chairman underlined that houses are built for IDPs, villages and districts are laid by the order of President Ilham Aliyev.

"I can say with great satisfaction that many villagers want to move to their native regions and villages voluntarily. The State Committee is ready to do everything possible to fulfil the instructions within the framework of the first state program,” he stressed.

The Azerbaijani authorities kick-started the “Great Return” program for relocating the former IDPs to their homes in the liberated territories. Hundreds of people were resettled in Agali village of Zangilan district, in Talysh village of Tartar district, and in the city of Lachin in 2022 and 2023.

Lachin, one of the largest districts in Azerbaijan spanning an area of 1,800 square kilometres, was occupied by Armenia's armed forces on May 18, 1992, connecting the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan to Armenia.

The Lachin district was the last of the three areas to be returned by Armenia to Azerbaijan as part of its obligations under the tripartite statement. The larger portion of it, except the city of Lachin and the villages of Zabukh and Sus, was returned to Azerbaijan on December 1, 2020, after 28 years of illegal Armenian occupation.