Restored justice The one-day counterterrorism operation that changed Azerbaijan

"The anti-terror operation of September 19–20 was a lesson for them and for everyone else. That operation, lasting only a few hours, completely eradicated the separatists, while those in whom they had placed their hopes remained silent. No one could stand against the Azerbaijani Army. No one could stand against the Azerbaijani people. Because we are right."

These words, spoken by President Ilham Aliyev on September 15 of this year during a meeting in the village of Badara in the Khojaly district with residents of the villages of Badara, Dashbulag, Seyidbeyli, and Shushakand, perfectly describe the events of those autumn days in 2023, which, together with our Great Victory in the 2020 Patriotic War, are inscribed in golden letters in the history of Azerbaijan.

Today, we want to once again recall the enduring significance of the one-day counterterrorism operation that proved to be a turning point for Azerbaijan. To understand its causes and inevitability, it is necessary to return to the events that followed the 44-day war.

As is known, despite the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020, in which Armenia undertook to withdraw its armed forces from Azerbaijani territory, in practice, official Yerevan continued to provide political, financial, and military support to the separatist regime in Khankendi, regularly supplying the separatists with weapons and ammunition. In addition, remnants of the Armenian army in Karabakh carried out active engineering and sapper operations, reconnaissance and sabotage groups became more active, and mines were repeatedly laid along the roads.

In addition, significant amounts were allocated annually from the Armenian state budget to maintain the so-called “Artsakh Defence Forces.” Many of those serving in these “forces” were officially listed as part of the Armenian army, receiving salaries and benefits from Yerevan.

On September 2, 2023, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sent a congratulatory message on the occasion of the anniversary of the infamous “Nagorno-Karabakh independence declaration.” On September 9, so-called “presidential elections” were held in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. All of this indicated that Armenia was preparing for larger military provocations, and collectively, these actions posed a security threat and undermined the peace process initiated by Azerbaijan.

Official Baku repeatedly warned the Armenian leadership at the highest level about the consequences such actions could provoke.

However, the Armenian leadership ignored all warnings. On September 19, 2023, on the Ahmadbayli–Fuzuli–Shusha road, a mine planted by Armenian saboteurs killed two civilians. On the same day, a vehicle carrying servicemen of the Azerbaijani Interior Ministry’s Internal Troops struck a mine laid by a reconnaissance and sabotage group of the Armenian armed forces, resulting in the deaths of four soldiers.

These terrorist acts were the final straw. By order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the Azerbaijani army launched a counterterrorism operation in the Karabakh economic region of the country, with the aim of neutralising illegal armed formations, restoring constitutional order, and ensuring the safety of the civilian population.

The separatists employed artillery and mortars against our forces—192 of our servicemen became martyrs.

The local counterterrorism operations concluded on September 20 with the complete and unconditional surrender of the Karabakh junta—the illegal separatist entity established by Armenia on Azerbaijani territory ceased to exist. In the following weeks, key leaders of the separatist regime were arrested, including Arayik Harutyunyan, Bako Sahakyan, Arkady Ghukasyan, Ruben Vardanyan, and others. As defendants, they are now giving testimony in the Baku Military Court.

Today, two years later, we can confidently say that the one-day counterterrorism operation became not only a military but also a political milestone for the entire region. From now on, Azerbaijan—having fully restored its territorial integrity—celebrates every year on September 20 important holidays: the Day of State Sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Day of the Cities of Khankendi, Khojaly, Khojavend, and Agdara, over which its tricolour now proudly flies. And so it will be forever.