Azerbaijan marks five years since Kalbajar’s liberation from Armenian occupation
Azerbaijan marks Kalbajar City Day on November 25, commemorating the fifth anniversary of the district’s liberation from Armenian occupation, News.Az reports.
Kalbajar City Day is observed annually on November 25, in accordance with a decree issued by President Ilham Aliyev on July 31, 2023.
The district’s return became possible through the political leadership of the Commander-in-Chief, President Ilham Aliyev, and the successful military operations of the Azerbaijani Army during the 44-day Patriotic War.
Under the trilateral statement signed by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Kalbajar was initially set to be returned on November 15. However, Armenia requested an additional 10 days to withdraw its units and illegally deployed formations from the area.
Demonstrating humanitarianism and responding to the request of the Russian president, Azerbaijan agreed to extend the deadline to November 25.
The Patriotic War began on September 27, 2020, when the Azerbaijani Army launched a counter-offensive in response to Armenian provocations. Over 44 days, Azerbaijani forces liberated several districts, hundreds of villages and settlements, and key strategic heights, ultimately securing victory. Confronted with defeat, Armenia’s military-political leadership was compelled to sign an act of capitulation.
Kalbajar had been occupied by Armenian armed formations since April 2, 1993. The occupation resulted in 53,340 Azerbaijanis becoming internally displaced, the deaths of 55 servicemen and 511 civilians, the disappearance or capture of 321 people, and thousands more wounded.
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