Servicemen, hikers go on expedition to mark army's 103rd anniversary

By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

To mark the 103rd anniversary of the Azerbaijani army's creation, a group of servicemen along with members of the Gartal sports club have organized a mountaineering expedition named "Karabakh is Azerbaijan", the Defence Ministry has reported.

As part of the expedition, which started on June 19, the servicemen and the club members will be climbing to the Zafar (Victory) peak (height 4,301 m) of the Greater Caucasus range. The expedition will last until June 28.

Before performing the mission, expedition members led by Lt-Col Zal Nabiyev and Gartal mountain sports club head Rufat Gojayev visited the Alley of Martyrs and the Second Alley of Honor to pay tribute to those who were martyred for Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.

Earlier, the Defence Ministry said that 2,904 soldiers, who were martyred in the 44-day war, have been buried by June 14 and that 10 servicemen are considered to be missing.

The hostilities between Azerbaijan and Armenia resumed after that latter started firing at Azerbaijani civilians and military positions starting September 27, 2020. The war ended on November 10 with the signing of a trilateral peace deal by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders.

The peace agreement stipulated the return of Azerbaijan's Armenian-occupied Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions. Before the signing of the deal, the Azerbaijani army had liberated around 300 villages, settlements, city centres and historic Shusha city. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s.