HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Battle of Aghdam (June – July 1993) took place on 23 July 1993 during the
First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in th ...
, during which Armenian forces captured the Azerbaijani city of Aghdam, which they considered a main staging area of Azerbaijani forces for attacks and artillery strikes against the Armenian-populated
Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked country, landlocked region in the Transcaucasia, South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik, and covering the southeastern range o ...
region. A significant part of the surrounding
Aghdam District Aghdam District ( az, Ağdam rayonu) is one of the 66 administrative divisions of Azerbaijan. It is located in the west of the country and belongs to the Karabakh Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Khojaly, Kalbajar, Tartar ...
was captured by Armenian forces as well. According to
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
, Armenian forces used the power vacuum in Azerbaijan at the time, and seized Agdam in July 1993. HRW reported that "during their offensive against Agdam, Karabakh Armenian forces committed several violations of the rules of war, including hostage-taking, indiscriminate fire, and the forcible displacement of civilians". After the city was seized, it was intentionally looted and burned under orders of Karabakh Armenian authorities in retaliation for Azerbaijan's destruction of the Armenian-populated city of
Martakert Martakert ( hy, Մարտակերտ, also , ) or Aghdara ( az, Ağdərə ) is a town ''de facto'' in the breakaway Republic of Artsakh as the administrative capital of its Martakert Province, ''de jure'' in the Tartar District of Azerbaijan, i ...
. BBC reported that every single Azeri house in the town was blown up to discourage return.


Background

By mid-1993, Azerbaijani forces had lost control of most of the territory of the former
Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO), DQMV, hy, Լեռնային Ղարաբաղի Ինքնավար Մարզ, ԼՂԻՄ was an autonomous oblast within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic that was created on July 7, 1923. Its cap ...
which they had captured in
Operation Goranboy Operation Goranboy was a large-scale military offensive by Azerbaijan in the summer of 1992. Its aims were to take complete control of the entire territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and put a decisive end to the secessionist Nagorno-Karabakh Republic ...
in 1992. In June 1993, the rebellious Azerbaijani colonel Surat Huseynov marched his troops on
Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...
, leaving the Karabakh front vulnerable in the ensuing political crisis. Armenian forces took advantage of the crisis and advanced on Aghdam. The city of Aghdam, which had about 50,000 inhabitants prior to its capture, is located about 30 km northeast of
Stepanakert / az, Xankəndi, italic=no , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = File:StepanakertCollage.jpg , imagesize = 300px , image_caption = From top left: Holy Mother ...
and 5 km east of the border of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. Azerbaijanis in Agdam and Armenians in Stepanakert and Askeran would exchange heavy artillery fire. The shelling of Agdam became more intense starting from early March 1993.


Battle

The battle of Agdam started on June 12 from north and south of Agdam using Grad missile launchers, heavy artillery and tanks. The campaign also included simultaneous assault on Tartar. The first attack on the city was repelled by Azerbaijani defense. The clash was marked by the death of
Monte Melkonian Monte Melkonian ( hy, Մոնթէ Մելքոնեան; November 25, 1957 – June 12, 1993) was an Armenian-American revolutionary and left-wing nationalist militant. He was the leader of an offshoot of the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation ...
, a famed Armenian military commander. Armenians were able to capture Farukh mountain 10 km away from Agdam overlooking the town from the northeast. Khydyrly village around which Azerbaijani forces took up positions fell next. The Armenian advancement was conducted with numerous violations of the
rules of war The law of war is the component of international law that regulates the conditions for initiating war (''jus ad bellum'') and the conduct of warring parties (''jus in bello''). Laws of war define sovereignty and nationhood, states and territor ...
, including the forcible exodus of the civilian population, indiscriminate fire and
hostage-taking A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or r ...
.


Aftermath

Despite the national mobilization, Azerbaijani forces were able to retake only a few villages but not the city. Following the battle of Aghdam, on July 25 ceasefire was announced by Armenian authorities and Azerbaijani government. In the course of next three months, Armenians captured four new Azerbaijani districts of
Qubadli Qubadli ( az, Qubadlı, ) is a city in Azerbaijan and the administrative centre of the Qubadli District. It is situated along the Vorotan (Bargushad) river. History Qubadli was part of the Zangezur uezd of the Elizavetpol Governorate during ...
,
Jabrayil Jabrayil ( az, Cəbrayıl, ) is a ghost city in Azerbaijan, nominally the administrative capital of Azerbaijan's Jabrayil District. A town with Azerbaijani majority and Armenian plurality at various times during the Russian imperial era, and A ...
, Fizuli and Zangelan resulting in displacement of 350000 of Azerbaijani civilians. Several villages such as Chirakhly and the city of Agdam became
ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...
s. Other villages of the
Agdam Rayon Aghdam District ( az, Ağdam rayonu) is one of the 66 administrative divisions of Azerbaijan. It is located in the west of the country and belongs to the Karabakh Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Khojaly, Kalbajar, Tartar, ...
were repopulated by the IDPs from the former
NKAO The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO), DQMV, hy, Լեռնային Ղարաբաղի Ինքնավար Մարզ, ԼՂԻՄ was an autonomous oblast within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic that was created on July 7, 1923. Its ca ...
.


See also

* United Nations Security Council Resolution 853 *
Operation Goranboy Operation Goranboy was a large-scale military offensive by Azerbaijan in the summer of 1992. Its aims were to take complete control of the entire territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and put a decisive end to the secessionist Nagorno-Karabakh Republic ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Aghdam First Nagorno-Karabakh War Aghdam Conflicts in 1993 1993 in Azerbaijan Aghdam June 1993 events in Asia July 1993 events in Asia