President Aliyev expresses condolences to families of martyrs killed on border

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has contacted via phone families of Major General Polad Hashimov and Colonel Ilgar Mirzayev, who heroically died during the battles on the Azerbaijani- Armenian border, the president’s press service reported on July 15.

Speaking with the Hashimov’s mother and Mirzayev’s son, Aliyev expressed deep condolences to the families of the martyrs.

The president noted that the heroism of servicemen who died for the motherland will never be forgotten and their deaths will be avenged.

The funeral ceremony was held for Major-General Polad Hashimov and Colonel Ilgar Mirzaev today, who heroically died on July 14 during heavy fighting in the Tovuz region on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border.

At the funeral ceremony held in the Second Alley of Honor, Minister of Defense Colonel General Zakir Hasanov, First Deputy Minister of Defense-Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces Colonel General Najmaddin Sadiqov, Deputy Head of Military Affairs Department of Presidential Administration Lieutenant General Yashar Aliyev, Head of Sector for Work with Armed Forces of the Presidential Administration Lieutenant General Elshad Babayev, Head of Baku city Executive Powers Eldar Azizov, as well as public figures and colleagues of the victims expressed their condolences to relatives and friends of martyrs.

To the sounds of the National Anthem of Azerbaijan performed by the Military Orchestra, martyrs were buried under the salvo fire in accordance with the military traditions.

Defense Ministry stressed to the families of the martyrs and all participants of the ceremony that martyrs’ death will be avenged.

Major General Hashimov’s brother Ilham Hashimov and Colonel Mirzaev’s son Elvin Mirzaev expressed deep gratitude to Supreme Commander of Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev and the Defense Ministry for high level of organization of the funeral ceremony.

Following the path of his father, Elvin Mirzayev promised to join the Azerbaijani army as an officer and avenge his father and all country’s martyrs.

On the night leading to July 14, five Azerbaijani servicemen, including a major general and colonel, were killed during the Armenian attack on the border.

In three days of fighting, the Azerbaijani army lost 11 officers and soldiers. One civilian was killed as a result of artillery fire by the Armenian armed forces.

The cross-border fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan started on July 12 with Armenia's firing artillery at Azerbaijan's positions in the direction of Tovuz region.

It should be noted that 43 parties in Azerbaijan issued a joint statement on July 15 in which they expressed full support to President Aliyev amid Armenia’s provocation on the border.

"We, the political parties of Azerbaijan, strongly support the policy pursued by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Ilham Aliyev, to ensure the territorial integrity and security of the population (...) declare close cohesion around the head of state," the statement reads.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway region, which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and around one million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France has been mediating the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994. However, final peace deal has not been reached yet.