HISTORY OF KARABAKH
Where we love is home - home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.
“Nagorno-Karabakh is our ancient and historical land, and we will definitely return to these lands. We will restore all destroyed historical sites and houses. We will give the streets Azerbaijani names and return the renamed villages their real names. We will definitely do that because the truth is on our side. We do not lay claim to the lands of other countries, but we will not give our lands to anyone either,” - Ilham Aliyev the President of Azerbaijan.
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HISTORY OF KARABAKH
Karabakh is one of the most ancient historic areas of Azerbaijan. The name of Karabakh, an integral part of Azerbaijan, is derived from the words 'Kara' and 'bakh' in the Azerbaijani language. The collocation of the words «Kara» and «bakh» has a history as ancient as the history of the Azerbaijani people. It is an undeniable and undisputable truth that this collocation is universally recognized as pertinent to a specific area of Azerbaijan
ARMENIAN CONTROL OVER NAGORNO-KARABAKH
During the 1991-94 war, Nagorno-Karabakh without its Azeri population who were driven out, claimed the right of self-determination and declared independence from Azerbaijan changing its name to Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR). However the Armenians had already exercised their right of self-determination in Armenia.
OCCUPATION AND REFUGEES
The war between Armenia and Azerbaijan lasted 3 years, ending in a ceasefire in 1994. The end-result of Armenian aggression was devastating: 20% of Azerbaijan, including Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding 7 regions were occupied by Armenian troops. 1.2 million Azeris, every 1 out of 9, had to flee their homes becoming refugees. 20,000 Azeris lost their lives, 50,000 were wounded.
KHOJALY MASSACRE
The most notorious episode of the war happened on 26 February 1992, when fleeing Azeri population didn’t flee fast enough and Armenian army caught up, starting indiscriminate killing of civilians in the town of Khojaly in Nagorno-Karabakh. 613 Azeris were murdered including 63 children.
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"The army is a pillar of our country, nation,
state independence!" - Heydar Aliyev
Karabakh is Azerbaijan ! - Ilham Aliyev
Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration