Foreign diplomats witness Armenian-inflicted destruction in liberated districts

By Azernews

By Aisha Jabbarova and Laman Ismayilova

Foreign diplomats accredited in Azerbaijan - ambassadors, military attachés, and heads of representations of international organizations - visited the country’ liberated Jabrayil and Zangilan districts on February 6 to witness destruction caused by around three decades of Armenian occupation.

Accompanied by Presidential Aide Hikmat Hajiyev, the diplomats visited the Azerbaijani cemetery destroyed by Armenians during the 27 years of occupation of Jabrayil.

They also visited the Khudafarin Bridge in Azerbaijan’s liberated Jabrayil district on the Iranian-Azerbaijani border that President Ilham Aliyev had described as the border of friendship.

Hikmat Hajiyev said that the diplomats would also visit Minjivan settlement in Zangilan district where a railway station functioning prior to the occupation was destroyed by Armenians.

Hajyev stressed that the visit aimed to create conditions for representatives of the diplomatic corps and ambassadors to see with their own eyes the crimes committed by Armenians in the former occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

"For many years Armenia has shown that it’s pursuing an allegedly peaceful policy. However, crimes in these territories once again reveal its true essence. Representatives of the diplomatic corps saw that everything connected with Azerbaijan was destroyed," the president’s assistant also pointed out.

"Journalists and specialists with military experience from different parts of the world also take part in our trip. They admit that even in the hottest points of conflict, they rarely encountered cases of destruction of cemeteries. Look what kind of vandalism was committed, here even the graves were destroyed, and the bones from the graves were scattered,” he added.

British Ambassador James Sharp who was among the visitors said “This is the first time I come and get acquainted with the lands returned by Azerbaijan as a result of the war.”

Sharp stressed that there are opportunities here for the restoration of agriculture, the development of renewable and solar energies in liberated territories.

Foreign diplomats also visited the House of Culture in Jabrayil district that is in ruins today.  

The world-famous Iranian-French photographer Reza Deghati informed representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Azerbaijan about the former appearance of the house and the destructions caused by Armenia during the 27 years of occupation.

Jabrayil was liberated by Azerbaijani Armed Forces during 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. 

"Ruins in Azerbaijan’s Jabrayil region are really shocking. I have been covering wars for 40 years, but I have never encountered such destructions before. I have not even heard of it. Over the 27 years, during which these territories remained under the occupation of Armenians, extremely serious crimes have been committed here," said the photographer.

Then, for the first time after many years, a musical composition was played among the house's ruins.

It should be noted that hundreds of cultural institutions were destroyed as a result of Armenian aggression.

Zangil and Jabrayil, along with 300 settlements, villages and city centers were liberated from the Armenian occupation during the Second Karabakh War that lasted from September 27 to November 10. Other Armenian-occupied districts - Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin - returned to Azerbaijan's control after the singing of the Russian-brokered Karabah peace deal on November 10.

Azerbaijan has allocated AZN 2.2 billion ($1.3bn) for reconstruction works in the liberated territories in 2021. In particular, these funds will be used to restore the infrastructure (electricity, gas, water, communications, roads, education, health, etc), as well as cultural and historical monuments. In addition, Azerbaijan allocated over AZN 9 million ($5m) to compensate damages to its citizens who suffered from Armenia's aggression during the six-week war over Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region.