Azernews.Az

By Rashid Shirinov

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on February 7 on posthumously awarding Azerbaijani soldier Chingiz Gurbanov with the title of National Hero of Azerbaijan.

The soldier was awarded for his outstanding achievements in the protection of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and personal bravery shown in a combat mission.

On December 29, 2016, a reconnaissance group of the Armenian Armed Forces attempted to violate the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border. The Armenian group found itself in the ambush of the Azerbaijani army while violating the borders and suffered heavy losses. During the fighting, Chingiz Gurbanov went missing. Later, it was clarified that he was killed by the Armenian Armed Forces and his body remained on the territory controlled by the Armenian Armed Forces.

After the incident, the Azerbaijani side officially appealed to the Azerbaijani representation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), OSCE Minsk Group, as well as the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk in order to return the body. Despite this, the Armenian side for over a month refused to return the body.

Eventually, Gurbanov’s body was transferred to Azerbaijan on February 5 as a result of the regular measures undertaken by international organizations, and relevant state agencies in accordance with the instructions of President Ilham Aliyev.

Chingiz Gurbanov was buried in the Alley of Martyrs in Gusar.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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