TODAY.AZ / Society

23 years pass since Khojavand's occupation

02 October 2015 [13:35] - TODAY.AZ

By Sara Rajabova - AzerNews 

October 2 marks the occupation of another beautiful Azerbaijani region by the Armenian Armed Forces in early 1990s.

Twenty-three years have passed since the Armenian Armed Forces occupied Azerbaijan’s Khojavand region during a brutal war between the two South Caucasus neighbors.

The region -- with an area of 1,458 square kilometers and population of about 41,216 people --fell to Armenian forces on October 2, 1992.

The Khojavand region was established on the basis of Martuni and Hadrut administrative regions after the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region was abolished in 1991. The Khojavand city, two large settlements, Girmizi Bazar, Hadrut, and 83 villages are located in the region.

More than 100 residents of Khojavand died in the battles with Armenian troops during the invasion. After the occupation, Armenians destroyed the region’s gorgeous natural environment and plundered its natural recourses.

According to the center evaluating the damage inflicted to the environment and natural resources in Azerbaijan’s occupied territories, drugs planted in Khojavand are being delivered to a number of countries and the flora and fauna of the region have been eradicated. Trees have been felled and transported to Armenia and other countries as timber for construction.

Prior to the occupation, the region had many historical-archaeological and architectural monuments, including the ancient Azykh Cave, dating back almost 1.2 million years B.C., fortresses from the first to eighth centuries, an Albanian Temple from the 10th century, and the 13th century turbeh among others.

Since the war, which ended with the signing of a precarious ceasefire agreement in 1994, the Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including the Nagorno Karabakh region, defying international calls and UN resolutions. Long-standing efforts by U.S., Russian, and French mediators have been fruitless so far.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/society/144106.html

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