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Azerbaijan Continues Resettling Former IDPs in Karabakh and East Zangezur Regions

By Yaver Kazimbeyli January 16, 2025

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32 families comprising 153 individuals have been relocated to Jabrayil city, January 16, 2024 / Azertag

Azerbaijan has further advanced the implementation of the First State Program on the Great Return to its liberated territories. On Thursday, another convoy of former internally displaced persons (IDPs) departed from the capital, Baku, to the newly reconstructed city of Jabrayil.

According to Azertag, 32 families, comprising 153 individuals, were relocated to Jabrayil city. A day earlier, 135 former IDPs from 28 families returned to their ancestral homes in Khojaly city, Ballija village in the Khojaly district, and Shusha city.

Representatives of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs handed over the keys to their new homes, allowing families to settle into their residences.

Telman Karimli, Executive Director of the Restoration, Construction, and Management Service in Khankendi city, as well as Khojaly and Aghdara districts, stated that since 2023, 68 families have been relocated to Ballija village and 52 families to Khojaly city. The relocation process to the liberated territories is planned to continue in phases throughout 2025.

Since 2022, more than 10,000 former IDPs have resettled across various communities in the Karabakh (Garabagh) and East Zangezur regions. Today, these regions are home to approximately 30,000 residents, including individuals involved in reconstruction efforts, employees of local government institutions, and workers in newly reopened sectors such as healthcare, education, culture, tourism, industry, and energy.

In a recent interview with local television channels, President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that the restoration of Karabakh and East Zangezur remains a top priority for Azerbaijan, alongside other key areas.

“This year, at least 4 billion manats (USD 2.35 billion) will be allocated. However, I believe we can mobilize even more. Over the past three years, we have managed to return former IDPs to 10 settlements, and this has already been reported in the media. More than 10,000 IDPs have already been provided with homes and are living there,” President Aliyev stated.

Plans are in place to accelerate the return of former IDPs in the coming year. Approximately 20 additional settlements have been identified for resettlement, with construction projects underway in multiple villages and cities. By the end of this year, IDPs are expected to be resettled in about 30 settlements.

Significant infrastructure projects, including over 60 kilometers of tunnels, bridges, power plants, and reservoirs, are scheduled for completion within the next one to two years. Substantial progress has already been achieved, with more than 30 hydroelectric power plants now operational, railways constructed, and other critical infrastructure in place. While reconstruction funding has primarily been allocated to infrastructure, plans are underway to channel more resources into housing development in the coming years.

New settlements feature comfortable housing — including apartments and private homes — alongside modern infrastructure and employment opportunities. Two industrial parks are already operational: one in Aghdam, which exports products abroad, and another in Jabrayil.

Since 2020, approximately AZN 22 billion (USD 13 billion) has been allocated from the state budget for the restoration and reconstruction of the liberated territories. By the end of 2026, an estimated 140,000 former IDPs are expected to resettle in the Karabakh and East Zangezur regions.

For nearly 30 years, Armenia and Azerbaijan were embroiled in an armed conflict over the Karabakh (Garabagh) region, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia launched a full-scale military aggression against Azerbaijan. The ensuing war, which lasted until a ceasefire in 1994, resulted in Armenia occupying 20% of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territories. Over 30,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, and one million were forcibly displaced during a brutal ethnic cleansing campaign by Armenia.

On September 27, 2020, the decades-long conflict escalated when Armenian forces in the occupied Azerbaijani territories shelled military positions and civilian settlements of Azerbaijan. In a 44-day counter-offensive, Azerbaijani forces liberated over 300 settlements, including the cities of Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Zangilan, Gubadli, and Shusha, ending nearly three decades of illegal Armenian occupation. The war concluded with a tripartite statement signed on November 10, 2020, by Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia. Under the agreement, Armenia also returned the occupied Aghdam, Kalbajar, and Lachin districts to Azerbaijan.

In a one-day anti-terror operation in September 2023, Azerbaijan restored full sovereignty over the entire Karabakh region, including Khankendi, Khojaly, Khojavand, and Aghdara.