Azerbaijan marks five years since Aghdam liberation
Azerbaijan celebrates Aghdam City Day today, marking the liberation of Aghdam from Armenian occupation on November 20, 2020., News.Az reports.
This year marks the fifth anniversary of that historic moment.
Aghdam was returned to Azerbaijan without a single shot being fired, following the country’s decisive victory in the 2020 Patriotic War. After Armenia launched a provocation on September 27, 2020, the Azerbaijani army began a counteroffensive that liberated several districts, hundreds of villages and settlements, along with key strategic heights.
Since Aghdam was completely mined by the enemy, the bulk of the Armenian occupation forces were concentrated in this direction, and the strongest fortifications were erected there, it was decided not to conduct large-scale military operations in this direction. Had the Azerbaijani Armed Forces launched an offensive in this sector of the front, it would have resulted in numerous casualties. Furthermore, the war could have become protracted. The Azerbaijani army conducted military operations, advancing along the entire line of contact, with the exception of Aghdam.
Realizing their helplessness, the military-political leadership of Armenia had to sign an act of capitulation.
In accordance with the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020, hostilities ceased completely. The second point of the statement stipulated the return of the Aghdam district to Azerbaijan by November 20, 2020. Thus, the city of Aghdam, which had been under occupation for 27 years, was liberated from the Armenian occupiers without a single shot, and the tricolor Azerbaijani flag was raised in the city.
According to the decree signed by President Ilham Aliyev on July 31, 2023, Aghdam City Day is celebrated annually on November 20.
Aghdam was occupied by Armenian armed forces on July 23, 1993. The occupiers captured 846.8 square meters, or 77.4% of the territory of Aghdam, located in the heart of Karabakh – one city and 80 villages. Twenty-six of 38 collective and state farms, 105 of 129 healthcare facilities, 74 of 108 schools, 199 of 271 community centers, 14 of 17 mosques, 24 construction organizations, and 67 enterprises were occupied.
As a result of the Armenian occupation, Aghdam suffered damages amounting to $13.135 billion. Numerous historical monuments of Aghdam, examples of culture and architecture, and the Bread Museum, the first in the USSR and the second in the world, were barbarically destroyed by the Armenian occupiers. As many as 6,000 martyrs fell in the fighting in Aghdam, 16 of whom are considered National Heroes of Azerbaijan.
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