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Since 1988, the conflict between Armenians and Azerbaijanis in Nagorno-Karabakh has intensified. This mountainous area was also at that time populated mainly by ethnic Armenians. But then it was part of the Azerbaijani Soviet Republic.
The Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh wanted the area to become part of Armenia and declared their independence. It led to a bloody war in which 30,000 people lost their lives.
SOME DRY: Some of the Armenians who fled the war in Nagorno-Karabakh are beginning to return. Here from the largest city in the region, Stepanakert.
Photo: KAREN MINASYAN / AFP
About 800,000 were forced to flee, most of them Azerbaijanis.
Armenian separatists took control of Nagorno-Karabakh. They received wide support from Armenia.
Also read: Nagorno-Karabakh: Armenians leave areas but get more time
– Our house was bombed
Elina Avagjan, 35, teaches one of her six children Armenian. She is sitting in a hotel room in the capital of Armenia, Yerevan. She and her husband fled their home in Nagorno-Karabakh a few days after hostilities began in late September / October.
BEST DAYS: Elina Avagjan with two of the children in the garden of the house in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Photo: Private
The family only managed to live in their home for a year before having to leave in a hurry.
– We couldn’t take anything. We came here with the clothes we were wearing, says Elina Avagjan. He only managed to bring some papers, the children’s birth certificates and passports. Everything else was left in the house that has now burned down.
HOUSE DESTROYED: The Avagjan family’s house in Nagorno-Karabakh was hit by a bomb and set on fire. They have this photo of the ruins.
Photo: Private
Elina’s husband is a veterinarian, but now he has no job or income.
The family receives help from other Armenians to cope for the time being. They are cooking in a common hotel kitchen, but they don’t know what to do now. His house in Nagorno-Karabakh was destroyed by a bomb.
They had cattle there and they did well, now everything is uncertain.
– I have no idea how we can travel back to Nagorno-Karabakh. Or how we should be able to live with the Turks, says Avagjan.
She calls the Azerbaijani Turks.
The 35-year-old woman says the family wants to return home, to what she calls “our Artzak” (the Armenians’ name for Nagorno-Karabakh).
Also read: Ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan
– Great military victory
In recent days, the Azerbaijani military forces have moved to two areas between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia.
VICTORIA: The Azerbaijani military seized the first area of the Armenians with orchestra and fanfare. The Azerbaijani authorities say they have won a great military and political victory.
The third region will be taken by the Azerbaijanis from the Armenians on Monday, in accordance with the ceasefire that Russia has negotiated.
Azerbaijan is now regaining about half of the territory previously controlled by the Armenians. It is celebrated as a great victory.
– Commander in Chief, the Agdam region is free! The flag of Azerbaijan flies in Agdam. Nagorno-Karabakh is Azerbaijani, said an Azerbaijani official in a recording released by the country’s military.
Read more: “Russia shows strength with a new agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh”
They burned their houses
Tens of thousands of Armenians have recently fled Nagorno-Karabakh and its surroundings.
Those who left the areas Azerbaijan was to take took what they could with them. Many set their houses on fire before finally traveling.
DEFEAT: Armenia proved to be much weaker militarily than the Azerbaijanis. Azerbaijan seizes three territories between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. Many Armenians set their houses on fire before leaving for good, to prevent the Azerbaijanis from seizing them.
– Who are we going to give it to? The terrorists? The Azerbaijanis who were behind a genocide? Is that so ?, says a man to the AFP news agency before taking off.
For the Armenians, the defeat in Nagorno-Karabakh is devastating.
After six weeks of hostilities, it turned out that the other side was much stronger militarily.
If a ceasefire had not been reached, the Armenians could have lost the entire region.
About 2,000 Russian peacekeepers are now monitoring the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh.
They are along the front lines and keep the parties separate.
– I have waited for 28 years
Azerbaijani Zulfu Quliyev lives in the second largest city in Azerbaijan, Ganja. He is a teacher and has a wife and four children.
I WANT TO GO HOME: Azerbaijani Zulfu Quliyev was only 22 years old when he had to flee the Nagorno-Karabakh war. Now that the Azerbaijani army has taken control of new territories, he hopes to be able to return to his hometown.
Photo: Khaliq Qurbanli
Quliyev is also a refugee from Nagorno-Karabakh, but had to leave his hometown in 1992. It happened during a bloody war that ended with the Armenians taking control of the region.
– Armenian bandits killed my father, who had participated in the Second World War, says Qulijev.
The Azerbaijani teacher is proud of the progress that the country’s military forces have made on the ground. It emphasizes that the army and the state are strong and that the Azerbaijanis are able to liberate their territory. The place where he spent his first 22 years has been taken over by the Azerbaijani army. Now the whole family hopes to return to Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Azerbaijani Qulijev family lives in the country’s second largest city, Ganja, with a population of 300,000. But they will return to Nagorno-Karabakh when given the opportunity.
Photo: Khaliq Qurbanli
– We burn with thirst after returning to our places of origin. Our ancestors lived there. It is our land. It is impossible not to dream of the place of birth, emphasizes Qulijev.
Some are already coming back
In recent days, many thousands of Armenian refugees have returned to Stepanakert, the largest city in Nagorno-Karabakh. They hope that the Russian peacekeepers will protect them.
AFTER ACTIONS OF WAR: Russian peacekeepers ensure that the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh is respected. About 2,000 Russian soldiers are stationed along the front lines between Armenians and Azerbaijanis.
Photo: FRANCESCO BREMBATI / Reuters
– I am very happy to return to Stepanakert. We are happy that the Russian forces have come here, says a woman.
Many other refugees will likely wait to return. It is not known what will happen next in this disputed area.
