Azerbaijan celebrated the second anniversary of the historic victory on November 8, 2020, ending the war in the country’s Karabakh (Garabagh) region.
Two years ago on this day, the Azerbaijani forces liberated the strategic Shusha city in the Karabakh region from a decades-long Armenian occupation. The city’s salvation was seen as the pinnacle of the Azerbaijani army’s weeks-long counter-attack operations, codenamed “Iron Fist.”
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and their son Heydar Aliyev have on Tuesday attended an event in the Shusha city as celebrations mark the second anniversary of Azerbaijan’s victory in Karabakh against Armenia.
On Nov. 10, 2020, Baku and Yerevan signed a Russia-brokered agreement to end the fighting in the region and work toward a comprehensive resolution.
During the 44-day conflict with Armenian forces, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages.
The cease-fire is seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia, whose armed forces withdrew in line with the agreement.
Shusha was said to be one of the major strongholds of the Armenian occupying forces, who could not resist face-to-face battles with the Azerbaijani troops and retreated in disarray. Liberation of the city has had a crucial impact on the surrender of Armenia’s forces and the signing of a tripartite statement on November 10, 2020.
On December 3, 2020, President Ilham Aliyev signed an order establishing November 8 as “Victory Day” in Azerbaijan.
The second anniversary of Victory Day on Tuesday started with a solemn march of the personnel of the Azerbaijani army. Azerbaijanis flocked to the Second Honorary Alley to pay homage to the memories of the fallen heroes of the 44-day Patriotic War. Various events, including flash mobs, concerts, and fireworks have been held commemorating the historic victory.
President Ilham Aliyev travelled to the liberated Shusha city, the cultural capital of Azerbaijan, to celebrate the second anniversary of the Victory Day with the servicemen of the Azerbaijani army, who were among the heroes that hoisted the flag of Azerbaijan in Shusha two years ago.
“By liberating the impregnable fortress of Shusha from Armenian occupation two years ago, the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan wrote a glorious page in our history. This glorious history will stay with us forever. The people of Azerbaijan and future generations will be rightly proud of this glorious Victory,” he said addressing the personnel of the national army.
Armenia occupied Shusha on May 8, 1992. The city underwent an unforeseen policy of destruction by Armenians aimed at erasing Azerbaijan’s historical and cultural heritage. Shortly before the 2020 war, the illegal separatist regime established in the occupied Azerbaijani lands held a self-designed bogus “presidential inauguration” in the city.
The Azerbaijani army restored Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over Shusha on November 8, 2020, during the final days of the 44-day war, which took place between September 27 and November 9, 2020.
President Aliyev said Shusha’s liberation after 28 years of illegal occupation was the pinnacle of Azerbaijan’s victory in the 44-day war.
