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One of Azerbaijan's ancient settlement and culture centers, Nagorno-Karabakh is part of Karabakh region. In 1923, the Soviet government established the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO), covering a total area of 4,400 км², in the mountainous part of Karabakh. This laid the foundation of separatist trends in that region. But in fact the root cause of the problem goes back to the 18th century when the Armenians, who were resettled in Azerbaijan, laid claims to Azerbaijani lands.
The Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict started with the Armenians' open territorial claims to Azerbaijan's historical lands and ethnic provocations in 1988. In the early 1980s, the Armenians in the Soviet Union leadership, leaders of Armenian SSR and the Armenian diaspora abroad exploited the weakening of the central government of the USSR to embark on a campaign to annex the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast to Armenia. From 1987 to 1989, more than 250,000 Azerbaijanis were expelled from their historical lands in Armenia, with 216 of them brutally murdered, and 1,154 wounded.
In the late 1991-early 1992, the conflict entered its military stage. Having exploited the collapse of the Soviet Union and political instability in Azerbaijan caused by the internal standoff, Armenia began military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh with external military support.
In February of 1992, an unprecedented massacre of the Azerbaijani population of the town of Khojaly was committed. Known as Khojaly Genocide, this tragedy resulted in thousands of Azerbaijanis being massacred or captured and the town razed to the ground.
In May 1992, the town of Shusha and Lachin district, located between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, were occupied. In 1993, the Armenian armed forces captured six more Azerbaijani districts around Nagorno-Karabakh – Kalbajar, Aghdam, Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Gubadli and Zangilan.
On April 30, 1993, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 822, demanding immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces from the Kalbajar district and other occupied areas of Azerbaijan.
On July 29, 1993, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 853, demanding immediate complete and unconditional withdrawal of the occupying forces from the district of Aghdam and all other occupied areas of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
On October 14, 1993, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 874, calling for the immediate implementation of the reciprocal and urgent steps provided for in the CSCE Minsk Group’s "Adjusted timetable", including the withdrawal of forces from recently occupied territories.
On November 11, 1993, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 884, condemning the recent violations of the cease-fire established between the parties, which resulted in a resumption of hostilities, and particularly condemning the occupation of Zangilan district and the city of Horadiz, attacks on civilians and bombardments of the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and demanding the unilateral withdrawal of occupying forces from Zangilan district and the city of Horadiz and the withdrawal of occupying forces from other recently occupied areas of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Armenia's military aggression resulted in the occupation by the Armenian armed forces of 20 percent of the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan – Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven adjacent districts, including the town of Khankandi, the districts of Khojaly, Shusha, Lachin, Khojavand, Kalbajar, Aghdam, Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Gubadli and Zangilan, as well as 13 villages in Tartar district, 7 villages in Gazakh district and 1 village in Sadarak district in Nakhchivan.
During the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, more than one million Azerbaijanis became IDPs, while 20,000 people were killed in military operations and 50,000 were wounded and became disabled.
For a period of 30 years Azerbaijan has been trying to resolve this conflict peacefully. But the ceasefire regime was violated by Armenia several times, including 27 September, 2020. On September 27, 2020, the President of the Republic of Armenia again violated the norms of international law, firing on Azerbaijani settlements and military positions from several directions using various weapons, including heavy artillery, as a result of which civilians and servicemen were killed.
Taking into account the number of dead and wounded, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, guided by Article 109, Paragraph 29, and Article 111 of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan, declared martial law in the entire territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan from 00:00 on September 28, 2020, in connection with armed attacks against the Republic of Azerbaijan and regular military provocations.
The decree further states that a curfew will be imposed in Baku, Ganja, Sumgayit, Yevlakh, Mingachevir, Naftalan cities and Absheron, Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Agjabadi, Beylagan, Agdam, Barda, Tartar, Goranboy, Goygol, Dashkasan, Gadabay, Tovuz, Shamkir, Gazakh and Agstafa districts from 21:00 to 06:00 for a period of application of martial law. In the areas where curfew is applied, persons will be prohibited from being on the streets and other public places without special permits and identity documents, a special entry-exit regime will be applied, and measures to restrict the movement of vehicles will be taken.
Also, according to the official declaration of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan date 27 September, 2020, as a result of military operations in the Fuzuli-Jabrail direction of the front, the villages of Garakhanbeyli, Garvand, Kand Horadiz, Yukhari Abdurrahmanli, Ashaghi Abdurrahmanli of Fuzuli region, and villages of Boyuk Marjanli and Nuzgar of Jabrayil region, which have been under Armenian occupation for many years, were liberated. In addition, enemy posts in the direction of the Aghdara region and in the heights of the Murovdaghi range were destroyed, and a number of dominant heights including Murov peak of the Murovdag mountain range were liberated and taken under control.
Special thanks to Fatima Eyyub, “ProDemos - Xalq üçün”.
The main purpose of the “ProDemos – Xalq üçün” project of the Azerbaijani Bar Association is to explain the publicly-important amendments in the legislation in simple language to our citizens and support those who need legal assistance through social networks. As a part of the project, the team also organizes live meetings with experienced lawyers and representatives of different governmental bodies every week and asks them to answer the questions addressed by citizens.
