Azernews.Az

By Vafa Ismayilova

Today Azerbaijan marks the 5th anniversary of the country’s military success during the April 2016 battles in Karabakh.

On April 2, 2016, all the frontier positions and settlements of Azerbaijan came under heavy fire of the Armenian armed forces. Civilians, including two children, were killed in the shelling of Azerbaijan’s settlements located along the line of contact. Numerous public and private facilities, including civil infrastructure, were seriously damaged in Armenia's armed attack.

Azerbaijan retaliated with a four-day armed offensive and liberated several important strategic points previously occupied by the Armenian armed forces.

The Azerbaijani army’s victories in the April battles laid the foundation of Azerbaijani lands' liberation from Armenia's occupation in the 44-day war lasting from late September to early November 2020.

Azerbaijan's state television channel prepared a video to mark the 5th anniversary of the April 2016 battles.

The video with the slogan "We honour the April victory with pride!" described the April fighting as the start of the country's glorious victory in the Patriotic War.

The 44-day war between Azerbaijan and Armenia in 2020 ended with the signing of a trilateral peace deal by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders.

The peace agreement stipulated the return of Azerbaijan's Armenian-occupied Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions. Before the signing of the deal, the Azerbaijani army had liberated around 300 villages, settlements, city centres and historic Shusha city. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s.

Some 2,881 servicemen of Azerbaijan's armed forces were martyred in the war that started with Armenia's firing at Azerbaijani civilians and positions. Over 100 Azerbaijani civilians were also killed during the war.

Azerbaijan allocated over AZN 9 million ($5m) to compensate damages to its citizens who suffered from Armenia's aggression during the six-week war over Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region.

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