Battle of Agdam
The battle of Ağdam ( Azerbaijani Ağdam uğrunda döyüş ; Armenian Աղդամի ազատագրում ) took place in July 1993 between Armenian and Azerbaijani military units in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region. As a result, the city was occupied by Armenian troops and completely destroyed. Nowadays, Agdam is like a ghost town .
background
With the beginning of active military clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh at the beginning of 1992, the Azerbaijani-settled city of Ağdam, which lies outside the administrative borders of Nagorno-Karabakh and only 30 kilometers east of the capital Xankəndi (Stepanakert), came into the line of fire of the Armenian units.
After the large-scale and successfully carried out Operation Goranboy in June – July 1992, when the Azerbaijani side had regained control of half of Nagorno-Karabakh's territory, in the spring of 1993 the positions they had won were surrendered. The military situation was exacerbated by the nationwide and momentous political crisis. Profound conflicts of interest arose between Colonel Surat Huseynow (who led Operation Goranboy in 1992) and the administration of the ruling Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan . In the course of this there was a military revolt in June 1993. Huseynow ordered his units stationed in the east of Nagorno-Karabakh to march on Baku and overthrow President Əbülfəz Elçibəy .
conquest
The Armenian side quickly took advantage of the vacuum prevailing at the front and launched a major offensive towards Ağdam and Tərtər just a few days after the withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops . For almost two months, the city, which at that time was already encircled by the north and south, was bombarded with Soviet BM-21 multiple missile systems, heavy artillery and tanks. By the end of June, the Armenians occupied several villages (Xıdırlı, Qiyaslı, Çıraqlı, Mərzili, Yusifcanlı etc.) and surrounded the city in early July. After weeks of heavy bombardment, Agdam fell on July 23, 1993.
aftermath
Despite the national mobilization, the Azerbaijani armed forces were only able to retake a few villages in the east of the city. Agdam himself remained under Armenian occupation. The city is now in ruins and is mainly used by Armenians as a military base.
In his report, Mario Rafaelli, then chairman of the OSCE- Minsk Group, criticized Armenia's actions. According to him, the occupation of Agdam completely contradicted the assurances of the Armenian side that they would seek a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and not attack Agdam.
On 29 July 1993, the adopted UN Security Council the resolution no. 853 in which the occupation of the city Agdam by Armenia condemned and the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all Armenian units is required from Agdam and other occupied Azerbaijani territories.
The fall of Agdam was of strategic military importance for Armenia and paved the way for the annexation of 4 further Azerbaijani provinces ( Füzuli , Cəbrayıl , Qubadlı and Zəngilan ) in the south of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Literature and individual references
- ↑ De Waal, Thomas: Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War. New York University Press, New York 2003, ISBN 0-8147-1944-9 , pp. 213 .
- ^ Van der Leeuw, Charles: Azerbaijan: A quest for identity: A short history . St. Martin Press, New York 1998, ISBN 0-312-21903-2 , pp. 180 .
- ↑ МИД АР об оккупации Агдама: статус-кво - основная причина самоизоляции Армении. In: Sputniknews. July 23, 2018, Retrieved September 5, 2019 (Russian).
- ↑ 2 Caucasus Regions Sinking Deeper Into Civil War. In: New York Times. July 6, 1993, accessed September 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Доклад Председателя Минской группы СБСЕ по Нагорному Карабаху от 27 июля 1993 года. документ S / 26184. July 27, 1993, Retrieved September 5, 2019 (Russian).
- ^ Resolution 853 Armenia-Azerbaijan (July 29). July 29, 1993, accessed September 5, 2019 .
- ^ Azerbaijan: Seven years of conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. Human Rights Watch . New York. Washington. Los Angeles. London. Brussels 1994, ISBN 1-56432-142-8 , pp. 35-54 .