Five years have passed since the liberation of Aghdam from occupation, SİA reports.
The counteroffensive operation launched by the Azerbaijani Army on September 27, 2020, concluded on November 9, 2020. During the 44-day Patriotic War, the Azerbaijani Army liberated more than 300 settlements, as well as strategically important heights in the Aghdara, Murovdag, and Zangilan directions.
With the liberation of Shusha on November 8, Armenia, realizing its defeat, was compelled to sign an act of capitulation. On November 10, a Statement was signed by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Russia Vladimir Putin, and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.
According to the second clause of the Statement, the city of Aghdam and the occupied parts of the Aghdam district were returned to the Republic of Azerbaijan on November 20, 2020. Thus, the 27-year occupation of Aghdam came to an end.
In line with the sixth clause of the Statement, Kalbajar district was returned on November 25, 2020, and Lachin district on December 1, 2020. Azerbaijan regained control of Aghdam, as well as Kalbajar and Lachin, without any casualties.
On the occasion of the liberation of the Aghdam district, President Ilham Aliyev addressed the nation on November 20, 2020. In his address, he noted that the liberation of Aghdam was a result of the trilateral Statement signed on November 10. Calling the event historic, the head of state stated that 73% of the district had been under occupation for 27 years.
President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that the liberation of Aghdam became possible thanks to the glorious military Victory. The Commander-in-Chief stated that had Azerbaijan not defeated Armenia on the battlefield, Armenia would not have withdrawn from Azerbaijani territories of its own accord.
According to the Order signed by President Ilham Aliyev, November 20 is marked as Aghdam City Day.
It should be noted that the “For the Liberation of Aghdam” medal was established in honor of the district’s liberation. Under the Presidential Order, military personnel who took part in the combat operations and demonstrated personal bravery and courage were awarded this medal.
For reference, the Aghdam district was occupied on July 23, 1993, by the Armenian Armed Forces. During the occupation, the city of Aghdam and its settlements were looted and destroyed; historical, cultural, and religious monuments, as well as cemeteries, were erased. Visiting the occupied territories in 2001, renowned American journalist and writer Thomas de Waal compared the devastation seen from the minaret of the ruined mosque to Hiroshima after the 1945 atomic bomb strike. Since then, Aghdam has been referred to as the “Hiroshima of the Caucasus.”
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